Steal my heart
by Mackenzie101
Summary: Tuxedo mask is the most wanted badit on earth. He steals things for himself in order to survive. But there's a new thing to steal now, the heart of Princess Serenity.
1. The bandit

Here's a new idea that just popped into my head. I hope it's as good as I think it is. Please tell me what you think when you review!  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
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Tuxedo mask, master swordsman and ladies man, was in his secret hideaway, deep in the lush green forests of earth. His hideaway was not too far from the village and the earth kingdom. He always felt some sort of strange feeling when he went towards it, like he belonged there, like he owned that kingdom.   
  
'Yeah right, I'm not welcome anywhere. I'm considered as the earth's most wanted bandit and yet, I have never been caught. Oh, what the king and prince of earth must think of me. Like I really care what they think.' He thought as he smirked and got up out of the comfortable chair, which he had stolen.   
  
Tuxedo mask's costume usually consisted of his black tuxedo, top hat, and white mask, a cape, with his sword at his side. Tuxedo mask got a lot of names for himself like the masked bandit and of course, his trademark name, tuxedo mask. He walked to the stalls, where his friend from the nearby town, Andrew was tending to Tuxedo mask's black stallion which he rode though the night as he stole things.   
  
Andrew saw tuxedo mask come into the stall and smiled. "So, where are you taking Diablo tonight, Darien?" He asked as he fed the horse. Darien sighed. "You know you shouldn't call me that. Anyone could be hiding out here, listening. You never know." He said as he leaned against a nearby wall. "Oh yeah, we wouldn't want all the ladies who swoon over you to know your real identity would you? Then you wouldn't be so mysterious any more. No one knows you anyway, you're just a commoner like me, and so you have no worries." Andrew said as he took out the saddle to put on Diablo. "I sure as hell do have worries, Andrew. I worry about getting caught or killed. I worry about if anyone is following me. Oh yeah, I have no worries at all!" He said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Andrew laughed.   
  
"So, anyway back to my question, why are you going out tonight? I thought you were done stealing for the week." Andrew said. Darien sighed. "It's not business this time, it's curiosity." He said. Andrew finished getting Diablo ready for departure. "Really? What are you curious about?" Darien picked up a piece of hay and twirled it around two fingers.   
  
"I heard that the princess of the moon, princess Serenity, is coming to the earth palace for a visit. I have heard about her beauty and I just wanted to see just how beautiful she really was." He said as he smiled and took Diablo's reigns and started to lead him out of the stable. Andrew knew what the princess looked like. She was beautiful beyond comparison.   
  
She was more beautiful than any other woman in the universe and almost every man she came in contact with, fell head over heals in love with her instantly. He hoped the same would not happen with Darien. Andrew wanted to stop him, but decided that there was no way to stop tuxedo mask.   
  
"Ah, another woman for you to have fall madly, desperately, in love with you." He said as Darien turned around and smirked. "Yes, don't they always?" He asked as he mounted his horse and rode off into the village.  
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Well, tell me if I should continue or not!  
~Mackenzie 


	2. The princess

Sorry for the long wait on the 2nd chapter to this, I was really busy. Anyway, thank you to all of you who reviewed. I hope to get many more reviews after this chapter!  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.  
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While Tuxedo mask rode though the little town on Diablo, he saw an unfamiliar ship come in. It looked like it was going to be landing on the earth palace landing space. 'So that is what moon space ships look like huh?' He thought as the ship passed overhead. Tuxedo mask dug his heals into Diablo and the stallion sped towards the palace.   
  
Meanwhile, the lunarian ship was landing in the palace's landing area. The king and the prince of earth, Dimindo, were standing in the area close to where they would be landing. It was arranged that Dimindo would marry princess Serenity in a month, but first they had to spend a little time together. Dimindo was looking forward to this, but Serenity wasn't. Her mother, Queen Serenity, once said that if she found someone whom she truly loved, then she wouldn't have to marry the prince of earth, she never did.   
  
Serenity was totally against marrying a man she hardly knew and she knew that all princes, well most of them, went for her looks more than her personality. 'It's a curse I suppose.' Serenity thought as she looked out the side window. They were landing on the air base, which was located on the roof of the palace.   
  
When Queen Serenity and Princess Serenity stepped off of the aircraft, they saw the king and the prince of earth. Serenity looked to the prince. He had a white suit on and his hair was white, he was handsome, but not as handsome as some other princes she met before. Dimindo stepped up and took Serenity's hand and kissed it.   
  
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, princess Serenity. I have been looking forward to this for a long time." He said smiling. Serenity shivered. He had a smile that could even scare the devil himself. She jerked her hand away and slowly curtsied. "And I you, Prince Dimindo." She said trying to smile, but it was hard since she could feel his negative aura emitting itself from his body. "Please, call me prince Diamond." She nodded. 'How about I call you prince demon?' Serenity thought with a smirk. Queen Serenity heard Serenity's thoughts and corrected her, telepathically.   
  
'Now Serenity, be nice. After all, he is your future husband.' Serenity looked past Diamond to the king. He looked a lot more handsome than Dimindo and didn't resemble his son at all. 'I would rather marry his father than the prince!' Serenity told her mother telepathically. Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow. 'Oh, and why is that?' Princess Serenity returned her gaze back to the prince, who she automatically labeled, evil. 'Don't you feel his negative energy, mother?' 'Don't you feel his negative energy, mother?' Serenity asked. Queen Serenity inwardly nodded. 'Maybe you can change him, Serenity.' She said as she walked towards the king and he took the queen's hand and kissed it. Prince Diamond held out his arm for Princess Serenity to take, but she refused his escort and walked right past him. Diamond glared at the back of her head.   
  
'I'll get that little spoiled bitch to like me, even if I have to force her into liking me.' Unfortunately, princess Serenity heard his thoughts and walked faster into the palace.   
  
After one of the maids led her to her chambers, which was thankfully on the other side of the palace, two other maids came and unpacked her bags. Serenity had to watch them and made sure that everything was on their proper places. Then, Serenity went exploring the palace. It was huge and beautiful. She had passed Diamond's room on her journey. She knew it was his because she felt his energy seep out of it. 'I have to feel that everyday for the rest of my life, because I'll be married to him. And our children won't have an ounce of goodness in them.' Serenity's eyes filled with tears at that realization and ran to the gardens.   
  
Serenity always wanted children of her own. Children she could love and care for, ones that could love her and their father, whoever he was and to have a loving husband, lover, companion, and king. But with Diamond, it would be totally and completely opposite. Serenity kept her eyes shut while running to the gardens. She needed to be away from him for a long while.   
  
Meanwhile in the gardens, Tuxedo mask had just climbed the high brick wall and jumped over it. 'Why do these stupid walls have to be so damn high?' He thought as he looked around for any signs of people. 'Good, now I just have to find the princess and get a good look at her.' He thought to himself. But before he could to anything, Serenity came running into the gardens, crying with her eyes shut. 'Oh shit! I have to hide or she'll see me and call the guards, then I'll be dead.' He thought as the memory of the wanted poster for him came into his mind. Tuxedo mask remembered it saying they wanted him either dead or alive. He smirked at the thought.   
  
Tuxedo mask quickly jumped up on to the nearest tree limb and hid from Serenity's sight. She had sat down on the bench and hugged herself and cried. 'I wonder what made her so sad?' He thought as he looked down upon her from up in the tree. 'I wish I could find one man that's at least somewhat of what I look for in a real prince.' Serenity thought as she wiped a few of her tears away. Tuxedo mask sat in the tree, crouching on a tree limb. He tried to get a look at her face but she had her back to him. Serenity was looking down at the ground in silence, until someone spoke up.   
  
"Excuse me, princess, but why are you crying?" Tuxedo mask said with charm in his voice. Serenity looked around for even one person who could have said that, but she didn't find anyone. "Who said that? Please show yourself." Serenity said as she continued to look around. Tuxedo mask got a good look at Serenity's face and his jaw dropped. She had the body of a goddess and the face of an angel. 'Is she a princess or an angel?' he thought as he stared at her.   
  
Tuxedo mask heard a faint snap beneath him and felt the tree limb start to give way to his weight. Tuxedo mask reached for the next nearest limb but the one he was sitting on broke and he tumbled out of the tree, landing behind the bench that Serenity was sitting in. Serenity gasped and looked at him. "Oh my, are you okay? What were you doing in that tree anyway?" She said as she helped him up. Tuxedo mask looked up at her and smiled. 'God, please let me just say at least one sentence to her.' He thought as he tried to form words but could not even breathe. Serenity looked at him and thought he was crazy. First, he asks her from up in a tree what is troubling her, then he falls out of a tree, dressed very nicely with a tuxedo and a white mask, and now he wouldn't even talk to her. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" Serenity asked in a concerned voice.   
  
Tuxedo mask finally regained himself and bowed to her and kissed her hand. "Pleased to meet you, princess Serenity, I am tuxedo mask." He said as he stood up and looked at her and smiled. She smiled back. "Pleased to meet you too, tuxedo mask, but why are you here?" She asked. "This is the private garden. You're not allowed to be here." She said still smiling. Tuxedo mask stepped back a little. "I just heard about you and I wondered what the princess of the moon looked like." He said smiling nervously now. She smiled even more. "Well, now that you know what I look like, what do you think?" She asked smiling an almost all too innocent smile.   
  
'Damn, there's one too many words to describe Serenity. Beautiful, stunning, sexy, gorgeous. Which word should I say?' He thought as he kept on staring at her. Serenity read his thoughts and giggled but not enough to where he could hear her. Suddenly, tuxedo mask smirked. "That's for me to know, and for you to somehow find out." He said. Serenity stepped closer to him and he took a step back. She wanted to see who he really was. She wanted to see the man behind the mask.   
  
All she could see of him was his dark black hair under a top hat and the lower half of his face. She couldn't see his eyes because they were hidden beneath the white mask. She was about to pull it off, but Diamond called her name. "Serenity, what are you doing out here? You were supposed to be at the dinner table with us twenty minutes ago." Serenity looked away from him to the spot where tuxedo mask was standing, he was gone!   
  
Diamond started to pull Serenity away from the gardens, but Serenity jerked her hand away from his grip on her wrist. "I can escort myself there, thank you." She said as she waved him away to go on without her. "Fine. I'll let you treat me like that for a little longer, but...." He said as he grabbed her arm and gripped it tightly and painfully. Serenity whimpered a little. He brought her close to his face and continued his sentence. "The moment we are married, you WON'T ever be treating me like that ever again, is that understood?" he asked as he gripped her arm tighter. Serenity cried out in pain and he took that as a yes and threw her down on to the grass. "I expect to see you there in five minutes." Diamond said with an evil look. Serenity only nodded and he walked away.   
  
Serenity was near to the point of crying, but then she saw something on the ground lying beside her. A red rose with a note attached to it that was addressed to her. She picked it up and walked into the palace. Surely it was from tuxedo mask.   
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Prince Diamond of earth? Blah! Gag me! Anyways you'll find out why he's the prince of earth in later chapters ok? Well, please review this chapter!  
~Mackenzie 


	3. The letter

Yay! Now I get to do another chapter! I'm sorry I made you all wait so long, storms kept me from going on the computer and plus I have final exams coming up next week. I'm going to try to get the next few chapters up in a week or so. So enjoy this chapter and review!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sailor moon.  
  
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Once Serenity made it inside the palace, she quickly ran to her room and gently put the rose and the note on her nightstand to read later. She took once last glance at them and smiled. She hardly knew Tuxedo mask, but deep down inside she felt like she had known him all of her life for some unknown reason.  
  
Serenity quickly joined her mother and the king and prince Diamond. She quickly sat down and waited for one of the servants to uncover her plate. She had the most exquisite dinner that night. Even though the food was exceptionally good, Serenity still couldn't help the fact that Prince Diamond was staring at her from across the table, evilly. She read his mind and shivered at all the horrible things he thought of that he wanted to do to her. Serenity knew he wouldn't stop thinking those evil thoughts until he actually committed them. She quickly stood up from her chair.   
  
"May I please be excused Mother? I have some things to do up in my chambers." She said as she looked pleadingly at her mother. Queen Serenity gave her a worried look but then, slowly nodded. Serenity curtsied and started to walk to the large, oak wood double doors that lead out of the dinning room.   
  
But, little did she know that Diamond was following her. He used the excuse that he was tired and needed to go to his chambers as well, long after Serenity left. When Serenity finally reached her room, she picked up the rose and the letter. She went over to her bed and sat on it and read the note while holding the rose. She read the letter to herself in her mind.   
  
Beautiful Serenity,   
  
I am sorry that I could not stay and have a long conversation over some tea and cookies, but that air head of a prince had to come barging into the gardens, so I had to leave. You see, he not only hates me, but he set a bounty on my head. I'm not sure if he has told you yet, but I am the most wanted bandit on earth. I hope if we meet again, our meeting will be longer.   
  
Your bandit,   
  
Tuxedo mask.   
  
Serenity sighed and stared up at the ceiling. She wondered what he would have been like if she had gotten to know him better. The knocking at her bedroom door knocked her out of her thoughts. She quickly hid the rose and the letter, knowing whom it was behind the door.   
  
She slowly opened the door and saw Diamond standing before her. She groaned mentally. 'Now why does this demon of a prince have to come and ruin my little moment?' Serenity thought as she gave him an icy glare. "What do you want?" She asked him coldly, still glaring at him. He gave her an evil smile. "You know, I'm going to enjoy breaking your spirit once we are married." He said as he stepped into the room. Serenity attempted to push him out. "Get out of my room. This was specifically designated as my room. So get out!" She yelled as she started to push him out.   
  
Diamond grabbed her wrists and brought her closer to him. She tried to slip out of his grasp, but he was just too strong for her. "You won't be telling me to go away if the masked bandit gets you." Serenity looked up into his very dark eyes. "And who, pray tell, is the masked bandit?" She asked as she looked away from his hungry gaze and broke free of his grasp.   
  
"Oh that's right, you don't know him. Well, he is the most wanted bandit on earth. And we are going to reward anyone who can bring him to me, dead or alive. Preferably, dead." Serenity backed away from him. "Why do you hate him so much?" She asked innocently. He smirked.   
  
"Because, my dear, he steals things for himself, and he is a skilled master swordsman who uses that as his talent in crime and he's also a ruthless killer." Serenity huffed. "So? There are lots of other bandits out there almost like him. You can't just single out one, just because you hate him. You have to give the others justice too." She said, seriously. He quickly grabbed her arm and twisted her around to face him. Serenity let out a little gasp.   
  
"This is my kingdom, Serenity. I'll do whatever the hell I want with it. And no one is going to tell me otherwise, not even you." He suddenly stopped and stared at her for a few moments and then leaned down to kiss her. Serenity looked up at him in disgust and quickly pushed him out the door and slammed it shut and locked it.   
  
"Little bitch! How dare you lock me out of one of MY castle's rooms! Mark my words Serenity, you're going to regret what you did just now!" He yelled into the door as he walked away, furious. Serenity fell back onto her bed as soon as she knew he was gone. 'God, how in the world am I going to survive being married to him? I mean he's probably going to murder me on our wedding night for peat sakes!' Serenity thought as she started to drift off to sleep.   
  
Meanwhile, Tuxedo mask was outside of the palace stables. 'Those guards got Diablo before I had a chance to leave. Now how am I supposed to get him without being shot on sight?' He watched as Diablo resisted being put in their stables. The black stallion was strong, but not strong enough to handle four men (Yes, they are the generals.) tying him down. They looked like the palace guards.   
  
'Now why did I have to go and do a stupid thing like leave my horse out in the open like I did? Stupid, stupid, stupid!' Tuxedo mask thought to himself as he continued to watch helplessly.   
  
Once they left, it was time for him to go and steal Diablo back. But before he had the chance to go into the stables, two different guards, who looked weaker than the last four men. They locked the stable doors and stood guard. 'Crap, now I'll never be able to get Diablo out of there. And I know for a fact, that the only way in or out of that place is the doors. I guess I should come back in the morning to try and rescue him. Have a good sleep, my friend. That is, if you can.' He thought as he quickly darted around the palace and to the safety of the city.   
  
The next morning, Serenity awoke, feeling very refreshed somehow. She went downstairs to the dinning room for breakfast. Luckily, Diamond wasn't there. She sighed a breath of relief and sat down across from her mother. After Serenity finished her meal, she decided to go horseback riding.   
  
"Your highness?" Serenity was addressing the king. "Yes, Serenity?" He asked as he smiled at her. She blushed. "I was wondering if your palace had a stable. I feel like taking a ride in the fields today." She said as she continued to blush. The king smiled. "Well, there is one in the back. Take which ever horse you like, except the black stallion. He hasn't really been tamed, yet." He said as Serenity's eyes lit up. "Thank you, your highness." She said as she quickly walked out of the dinning room and ran to her room to change to go riding.   
  
She quickly got out her riding clothes, which consisted of a white blouse with flowing white sleeves and tan colored pants and black boots. Serenity walked out of her room, closed the door as calmly as she could. She couldn't wait to see what earth's horses were like. She ran out to the stables and saw that there were no guards there. 'That's odd. I guess they don't get horse thieves here like some other planets do.'   
  
But, what Serenity didn't notice, was that the guards that were watching the doors, were both knocked out and dragged to the side of the stable. Serenity quietly stepped in, so as not to scare the horses. The stable was a little dark because the sun wasn't out just yet. Serenity looked over at a few of the horses and noticed the one that the king was talking about, the black stallion.   
  
She went over to get a better look at him, but suddenly she felt the sharp cold steel of a sword pressed against her throat and her arms were now behind her back. It happened so fast, Serenity didn't know what to do or who it was. So, on instinct, she screamed.   
  
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Oh what's this? A cliffhanger! Ok review and I'll add more as soon as I can!  
  
~Mackenzie 


	4. A stolen first kiss

So sorry! I didn't mean to make you all wait this long! I just got out of school and decided to relax for a couple of days so, ya know I've been lazy. Anyway, here is the next chapter!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
  
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Serenity screamed as loud as she could, but a hand suddenly covered her mouth. She started to try to struggle out of whoever's grip, but whoever was behind her, was extremely strong. 'If this is Diamond behind me, then I'm in deep shit, but if it's someone else, then they are going to get a little taste of what it's like to be blasted by moon power!' Serenity thought as she struggled some more.   
  
"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you." Said a sort of familiar voice. Serenity took a little time to feel out this person's energy. It definitely was not Prince Diamond, because this person had pure, white energy, not black and evil like Diamond's. Serenity nodded to signify that she heard him.   
  
"Now, I'm going to let you go, but promise me that you won't yell for the guards or anyone for that matter. Nod if you promise to do that, and in turn, I promise I won't hurt you." Serenity slowly nodded and her captor gently let go of her. She slowly turned around to face whoever had her trapped. The sun was now up so there was more light shining into the stables. Serenity saw the person fully now. It was none other than Tuxedo mask.   
  
"What are you doing here? Are you trying to steal one of the king's horses?" She asked as he chuckled. "No, but his guards stole something from me." He said smirking. Serenity crossed her arms over her chest. "And what would that be, bandit?" Tuxedo mask smiled and pointed to the black stallion, who seemed to recognize him. Serenity stared at him for a few moments. She actually took in what he actually looked like up close.   
  
His tall figure looked stunning to her in the black tuxedo. His chest muscles were very visible in the nice, white, dress shirt he wore. She looked up at his face, but only saw his very nicely chiseled chin and his bronze toned skin. She couldn't see his eyes though the mask, but she knew they were probably just as dazzling as the rest of him.   
  
Serenity felt like her legs were going to give way to her weight any moment now. "Are you going to stand there gawking at me all day, or are you going to let me pass so I can take back what's mine?" Tuxedo mask said, making her blush, but she stood her ground.   
  
"It's no longer your horse if it's in the king's stables, now is it? You're going to have to find some other way to get it back, now that it's the king's property." Tuxedo mask took a second glance at Serenity. 'I wish I could steal her and Diablo. But, I can't. Maybe I can steal a kiss from her though.' He thought as he looked up at the ceiling, then back at her.   
  
"Alright then, I won't steal Diablo back." He said as Serenity looked at him funnily. "I'll win him back, fair and square." He said smiling. Serenity nodded. "Ok, but how do you intend on doing this?" She asked. "You did take self defense classes back on the moon, didn't you?" He asked. Serenity nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with this?" She asked.   
  
"Well, here is how the little contest is going to work, one of us has to get the other person down on the floor, pinned." He said as Serenity smirked at him. "And if one of us wins?" She asked, still smirking. Tuxedo mask continued. "If you win, you get to send me off to Prince Diamond, or do with me what you like. But, if I win, I get Diablo back and I get a kiss from you." Serenity saw this as a challenge and nodded in acceptance. "I'm ready when you are." She said, but before she could do anything, he had already slipped her legs from under her and pinned her down beneath him. Serenity gasped.   
  
"You cheated! You didn't win fair and square, you lying bastard!" Tuxedo mask smirked. "Now, now, princess. Such language for a lovely princess such as yourself." He said, leaning in closer to her. Serenity blushed at their closeness. "What do....do you think you're doing?" She asked, getting a little nervous. Tuxedo mask smiled. "Collecting one of my prizes."   
  
He said as he stared at her blue eyes for a few moments, before he slowly leaned down toward her lips more. Serenity had no choice but to give in to his wishes. So, she closed her eyes as she felt his hot breath on her lips. But, before Tuxedo mask could get any closer, he heard voices coming towards the stables.   
  
He quickly got up off of her and helped her up as well. "I guess we will have to finish this later. If they catch me, well you probably have a good idea what might happen to me." Tuxedo mask quickly untied Diablo and started to lead him out the door but Serenity's voice stopped him. "Come to my chambers tonight, if you wish. I'll give you your other half of the prize and something else." She said as she smiled at him. He stood there stunned for a few moments, but with a little nudge from Diablo, he was sent back to reality to see a row of palace guards standing before him and Diablo.   
  
"Masked bandit, if you surrender now, I think the prince will go much lighter on you." One of the guards said while drawing his sword and the rest drew their guns. Tuxedo mask chuckled. "You people just don't know when to quit do you? You haven't caught me any of the other times you have cornered me before, what makes you think you will this time?" He said as he quickly mounted Diablo and charged right into them. Of course, they all jumped out of the way right before getting flattened. "Damn you Tuxedo mask!" Yelled the one who had the sword.   
  
Nearby, prince Diamond had just stepped out of the palace, just to see tuxedo mask ride by. At that, he was furious that he had gotten away, again. Near the stables, he saw Serenity and his guards standing there, watching tuxedo mask go. He angrily marched over to where they were and had the men line up and started yelling at them, especially at the captain.   
  
"You are all disgraces. How could you let that bastard get away? It was an easy catch I tell you, an easy catch! But no, all of you had to be incompetent and just let him get away!" After he was sure Diamond was though, one of the guards spoke up.   
  
"But sir, we tried, but he's a madman. He charged right though us, there was no way anyone could stop him." Suddenly, everyone heard a big smack of flesh and it happened to be the young guard who tried to stand up for the rest of his troop. Diamond had slapped him hard across the face and he was now lying on the ground.   
  
"First of all, never call me sir. It's your highness to lowlife such as yourself. And second of all, you could have done more to stop him, and that goes for all of you." He turned to the captain. "I expect you to have your troops better trained by tomorrow morning or you will be fired, is that clear?" He said to the old captain. The captain slowly nodded his head and answered sadly. "Yes, your highness. By morning, if not sooner." He said as he turned to his troop and led them away to go do some rigorous training.   
  
Diamond turned to Serenity and scowled. "What are you doing out here anyway, Serenity. I thought you were having breakfast with you mother and my father." Serenity stiffened. "The king said I could go for a little horse back riding, but now I don't think I have the energy to do it." She said as she started to walk past him.   
  
"Why? I thought you had plenty of energy, that is, until tuxedo mask came around." He said with a little accusation in his voice. Serenity looked at him curiously. "What are you talking about?" She asked him. Diamond smirked. "I saw you out there with him from my window, that's when I went to go get the guards. I left the window for a few minutes and you know a lot can happen in a few minutes." He said as he backed her up against the wall next to the stable doors with his body, blocking her escape.  
  
"Tell me Serenity, did he touch you in any way?" He asked with a little smirk. Serenity looked at him with disgust. "No, and no one ever will. Especially not you!"   
  
She said as she quickly pulled at the door from behind her and hit him in the face with it and ran back into the palace. It took Diamond a few seconds to realize what had happened. His nose was now bleeding and his anger was boiling inside of him. So, he ran into the palace after Serenity and chased her though the palace. He chased her all the way to her room, where she quickly locked her door and slid down the door to the floor, catching her breath. She felt the vibrations of him banging on the door and heard his violent curses at her.   
  
"Just wait Serenity. Wait until the night we are married and I get you alone. I trust you, it will be a fun night for me maybe, but not for you." He said before laughing evilly and leaving her door. Serenity sighed with relief. She didn't want to leave her room for the rest of the day.   
  
The servants brought both lunch and dinner to her room. She had told them she wasn't feeling too well and so she got to stay in her room most of the day. She once slipped out of her room to talk to her mother, but when she saw Diamond coming around the corner, she quickly went back to her room and locked the door.   
  
Serenity noticed that she hadn't changed since her little run-in with Diamond. So, she went into her bathroom that was thankfully inside her room so she wouldn't have to exit the safety of her room to be back in Diamond's clutches.   
  
She took off her riding clothes and stepped into the shower. She had already laid herself out a gown to sleep in, since it was already dark and she was extremely tired from the day's events. When she walked out of her bathroom, dressed fully in the gown, Serenity saw tuxedo mask standing in front of her balcony window, outside.   
  
"Mind letting me in?" He asked as he smiled. She quickly walked over to the doors and unlocked them. She giggled as he stepped in. "I thought you could do just about anything, even pick locks. So why didn't you just let yourself in to my room?" She asked. He smiled. "Well, unlike Diamond, I'm not a notorious womanizer and pervert like he is, so I just waited for you to come and open the door for me. At least that shows you I'm a gentleman." He said while looking around the room. 'This all seems so familiar in a way, but how? I have never been in this palace in my life.' He thought to himself as Serenity disturbed his train of thought.   
  
"So, you're here for the second half of your prize if I am not mistaken." Serenity said sweetly. Tuxedo mask blushed slightly. "Oh yes, that." he said as Serenity stepped closer to him and he slowly pulled her into an embrace. He felt so warm and comforting to Serenity. She felt like she could melt into him, as his lips got closer to hers.   
  
When his lips finally reached Serenity's, she felt like she had been sent straight to heaven. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and she pulled him more into her body. Tuxedo mask instantly wrapped his arms around her small back and waist and drew her even closer, deepening the kiss. Serenity moaned though his kiss and held on to him tighter. Never, in all of his life, had tuxedo mask kissed a woman this long or held her that tightly.   
  
Once Tuxedo mask or Serenity could no longer breath, they pulled away from their kiss, gasping for air. Tuxedo looked down at her very flushed face, and smiled. "That....was even better than I hoped it would be." He said while catching his breath and chuckling at the same time. Serenity sighed deeply and smiled. "Same here." She said as she got out of Tuxedo mask's hold and went to her nightstand and opened a little compartment. She took out a little invitation and walked back over to him and handed it to him. He looked at Serenity, puzzled.   
  
"What is this for, Princess?" He asked as he looked down at the little card. Serenity giggled. "It's an invitation to come to the ball that's being thrown in honor of the earth and moon alliances." She said. 'And my stupid engagement to prince Demon.' She thought as Tuxedo mask smiled at her and nodded.   
  
"Okay, I'll try to be there." He said as he started for the balcony door, but Serenity stopped him by grabbing onto his arm. He turned and looked down at her.   
  
"I want you to stop calling me princess from now on, tuxedo mask. I want you to call me Serenity." She said smiling up at him. He smiled and nodded. "Ok then, Serenity. Please save one of your dances for me." He said as he winked at her and went though the doors and jumped off the balcony to the awaiting Diablo. He quickly mounted Diablo and rode off into the night.   
  
Serenity closed her balcony doors and locked them back and went to bed. That night, Serenity had the most restful sleep she ever had, and the most wonderful dreams of the bandit that stole her first kiss.   
  
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Ok, now you know what comes next, review, review, REVIEW!  
  
~mackenzie 


	5. The Ball Part 1

Hello again! Nothing much to say up here but REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Uh.. yeah, you get my point. So read and.. you know what to do afterwards!   
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
  
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Serenity woke up the next morning to see blue birds on her balcony railing, singing a lovely early morning song. She smiled and went outside to see them.  
  
Back on the moon, all of the birds on her planet were doves, no other different birds, except the white swans. She stepped carefully towards them and looked at them. But as soon as she got only an inch away from them, they flew away. Serenity pouted.  
  
'The one chance I get to see something different on this planet was sitting right here on my balcony and they flew away.' She sighed as she leaned against the railing made of stone.  
  
'Just like my freedom, I have it one day and then, it's gone to a demonic prince who doesn't give a damn about my feelings or his planet. I wish the earth's prince could have been someone like.like..' Her thoughts slipped to tuxedo mask. Serenity sighed.  
  
'Someone like him.' She thought as the memory of her first real kiss with him came into mind. That one simple kiss had made her melt in his arms. Even his touch had the same effect. Serenity sighed and went back inside to her room and shut the balcony doors.  
  
'I wonder if he will come to the ball tonight, but it is going to be hard to recognize him, since it is going to be a masquerade ball. This should be fun!' Serenity thought with a giggle as she picked out a dress for the day, and one for tonight.  
  
Deep in the nearby forest, at Darien's hideout, Andrew sat in Darien's chair, watching him pace around. "What am I going to do Andrew? Should I go and tell her that I can't come because Diamond's guards will recognize me, or go and get caught and spend the rest of my life in jail while I know that the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life is being harassed by Diamond? Maybe I shouldn't go at all, and just forget about her." Darien said as he sighed and ran his hand though his dark hair.  
  
He was no longer in his trademark tuxedo and mask. He was pacing around in a white button down shirt with black pants. Andrew got out of his seat for Darien to take and took a stool instead. Darien tiredly plopped down in the chair.  
  
"Sure she's beautiful, Darien. But she's a princess and you're well.. you're a commoner and a bandit. You could never be together with her. You know she's engaged to Diamond, right?" Andrew said as Darien sat up straight in his chair.  
  
"What? I didn't think that she was..I thought she was just here to visit." Darien said as his hopes died and he frowned. Andrew saw this and sighed. "I knew this would happen. I knew I should have stopped you that night you said you wanted to see what she looked like. And now look at you, you're the one head over heals in love with her, not her in love with you." Darien glared at him.  
  
"Did I say I was in love with her? No, I don't remember myself saying that. If I did though I'd.." Darien trailed off. "You would what?" Andrew edged him. He sighed. "I don't know, because I know it's never going to happen, so drop it Andrew!" Darien said as he turned around and punched the wall. Andrew got up and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.  
  
"Take it easy, Darien. Look, I think you should go, just to make her happy and go have fun for yourself. And you are going as Tuxedo mask." Andrew said as Darien turned and shook his head. "No, I can't go as tuxedo mask, I'll be caught for sure." Andrew smirked.  
  
"That, is where you are wrong my friend. If we make a few alterations to your costume, no one will recognize you, not even Serenity." He said as Darien smiled. "And how are we going to do that?" Darien said as Andrew pulled out Darien's tuxedo and his mask. "I'll show you, but we better make it quick, we have to be at our job in a hour." Darien nodded as they began the work on his costume for tonight.  
  
Meanwhile, Serenity stood in the middle of the ballroom and looked around. It wasn't even decorated yet, but with the royal blue paint and white, it looked really beautiful. "So, what are you going to do about this room to be ready for tonight?" A voice from behind said. Serenity turned around and saw Diamond standing behind her. Serena looked at him funnily.  
  
"What do you mean what am I going to do? It's the decorator's problem, not mine." Diamond laughed. "But you are the decorator, my dear. You'll have to decide how this ballroom is to be set up, by yourself." She gasped. "Why me? I'm the guest here, and unfortunately, your future wife. Don't you have some doing in this?" Serenity asked as nicely as she could. Diamond smirked.  
  
"Sorry, but this kind of thing is for women only so, you're the one for this job." He said while turning and walking out the door. As soon as he left, Serenity felt like screaming.  
  
The man was driving her insane. 'Sorry, but this kind of thing is for women only? Just another excuse to get out of doing something that's benefiting the Kingdome and not himself! That self-righteous.'  
  
Serenity's thoughts trailed off as her mother broke her thoughts. 'Serenity, you have a call from your court.' Queen Serenity told her daughter, telepathically. Serenity smiled and quickly got to her personal phone in her room. She quickly turned the screen on to see Sailor Venus, the second in command of her court. Serenity smiled.  
  
"Hello, Serenity! The girls and I were talking and we were wondering if, we could come to your ball tonight? You know, since we haven't seen each other in so long." Venus said in a cheerful voice. Serenity's eyes brightened and a huge smile dawned her face. "Of course, Mina! You mean Amy, Raye, Lita, and yourself are going to come to the ball, tonight?" Sailor Venus nodded and smiled. "Ok, we might be a little late, but we'll be there. See you later, Serenity!" Venus said, before turning off her phone.  
  
Serenity turned off her phone as well. She lay back on her bed and sighed. 'Well, at least I'll have two things to make me happy tonight. The fact that my friends are coming and I have someone better than Diamond to dance with tonight.' Serenity thought as she got up to get the royal decorator to help her with the ballroom.  
  
In the village nearby the palace, Andrew was hard at work at the bread shop, while Darien helped him out. "Why do I have to help you out again?" Darien asked while picking up a sack of dough for a merchant, and putting it in the back of his carriage. Andrew looked up from his stand. "Because, Darien, I help you with your nightly outings, so the least you could do is help me here." Andrew said as Darien chuckled. "I'm only kidding Andrew. I already know." Darien said while going back to the stand and casually leaning on the side of it.  
  
Later that night, Serenity sat in her room, brushing her hair out and getting ready for the ball. After she tied her hair up in her traditional style, she went to her bed to switch out her dresses. She took off the one she was previously wearing and put on her other one. It was her traditional princess dress she usually wore on the moon.  
  
It was white with yellow embroidery circles at the top of it. Serenity smiled in approval and walked out of her room, and down the stairs to the ballroom. People were already there, some of them were talking, but most of them were dancing. Once the palace guards saw her, they quickly announced her presence and everyone looked at her, while she stood at the end of the stairs.  
  
As soon as she got down from the stairs, different men were asking her to dance with them, so she always smiled at them and danced with them a few minutes and then went on to the next one. It went like that most of the night, until Diamond cut in. Serenity didn't even look at him the whole time she was dancing with him. Diamond tried to get her to at least say one word to him, but failed.  
  
After a while, Serenity heard another deep voice. "May I cut in?" He asked. Serenity looked over to the man that spoke.  
  
Diamond snorted and let go of Serenity and walked away. "I guess I should take that as a yes?" The man said as he chuckled. Serenity took a look at him. He was wearing a black tuxedo, almost similar to tuxedo mask's, but without the cape and the top hat. He had a white mask on though.  
  
Serenity gasped as she figured out who he was. "Is that you, tuxedo mask?" Serenity asked as he smiled and nodded. He took her in his arms and started to waltz with her. For some reason, Serenity felt so safe around him, so she put her head on his shoulder when the music slowed. "I think we need to talk, Serenity." Tuxedo mask said as she looked up at him from her place on his shoulder. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yeah, I know how much you all hate cliffhangers, but I just had to do it. I'll update as soon as I get lots and lots of reviews!   
  
~Mackenzie 


	6. The Ball Part 2

All right here is the next chapter! I'm sorry I didn't get it out earlier, I was very busy with my friends and family this summer, and so I didn't have much time to write. Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible!   
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
  
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"What do you mean?" She asked quietly. He stared down at her. Even though she couldn't see his eyes though the mask, she knew he was staring at her. "About some information I heard from a very reliable source." Tuxedo mask said, seriously. Serenity looked at him questionably. He leaned down close to her face, but then slowly went to her ear. Serenity shivered at the feel of his hot breath on her neck.   
  
"You don't have to believe everything you hear, Tuxedo mask." She said, slowly closing her eyes while they continued to waltz in time to the slow music. He pulled her closer and continued dancing. "With what I heard I do have to believe it, because it does sound logical as to why you're here." Serenity stiffened. 'Please don't let him know I'm going to marry Diamond. Please make him think I'm only visiting.' She silently prayed.   
  
"About you getting married to prince Diamond. That's what we need to talk about." Serenity gripped the back of his tuxedo like she had been shot though the back and then right into her heart. "I....I....oh no....." She said, speechless.   
  
He pulled back and noticed she had no idea what to say to him. "Is there any place we can be alone, Serenity?" He said, knocking her out of her shock. "I....yes....I think so. Follow me." She said as she took his hand hesitantly and led him out the doors to the gardens.  
  
Little did they know, Diamond was watching them the whole time. 'What in the hell does that man think he's doing with my Serenity? Well, I'll put a stop to it. In fact I think I recognize that man. Now, where have I seen him before?' He was deep in thought when a guard interrupted him.   
  
"Your majesty, Princess Serenity's court has arrived. They wish to see the princess." Diamond looked at the guard and groaned under his breath. "Have my court escort them in. Oh, and tell the servants to prepare rooms for her court as well." He said as he walked off. He was really tired of this 'boring event' as he called it, and left it to the king to see to the rest of the guests for the evening. He went to his room and shed his cloths and slipped into his own bed.   
  
'That man had a strange resemblance to tuxedo mask. Oh well, as long as he never comes near Serenity again, I'll be happy. Her so called court should find them before he can do anything to her.' He thought as he slipped into a deep sleep.   
  
Meanwhile in the gardens, Serenity sat on the stone bench while Tuxedo mask stood before her. "Why didn't you tell me when I made my visit to your room? You should have told me so if I did get caught, Diamond wouldn't think I was stealing you away from him." He said while running his fingers though his dark hair. Serenity slightly squirmed in her seat.   
  
"I'm not exactly his." She said quietly. "Not exactly his? If you're not here for a visit, then I assume your parents handed you over to him, so you're his now. I wish my curiosity had not gotten the best of me that day." He said as he turned away to go but she grabbed his arm.   
  
"Tuxedo mask...." She started sweetly, but pleadingly. His heart leaped at the mention of his alter ego's name. He turned to face her. "Please stay and let me explain." She said, leading him to the place next to her on the bench. Serenity looked up at the starry sky and saw her home the bright and beautiful moon.   
  
"I really don't want to get married to him. In fact, I really despise him, but I can't do anything about it, because every time I try to resist him, he hurts me." Tuxedo mask looked down at her, feeling sorry for her. He knew that Diamond was a notorious womanizer and now that he had Serenity in his clutches for the rest of her life, there was no telling what he would do to her.   
  
Anger slid though out him. He didn't want to think of what he would do to Serenity if he got her completely alone. It took a little time, but eventually Tuxedo mask made his anger level drop. "Hurts you? In what way?" He asked in a concerned tone. Serenity looked up at him with her eyes, filled with bitterness for Diamond, and sorrow for herself.   
  
"He just throws me on the ground and grips my arms. It's okay I guess." Serenity looked down at the ground after she had said her last sentence. She knew it wasn't okay for Diamond to treat her like that.   
  
"No it's not alright, Serenity, and you know that." He said, while carefully lifting her chin to meet his eyes. He then bent down in front of her and sighed. 'I wish I could do something to get her away from Diamond, but the palace guards would see me stealing her away from here and haul my ass off to jail.' He thought as Serenity stared at him.   
  
"Tuxedo mask, may I request something of you?" He nodded. "Well, since you have seen me like you wanted to, can I maybe see you, without the mask? If not that, then can you at least tell me your real name?" Serenity smiled sweetly at him after she had asked him her questions. "Well, I can pay you another visit to your room either tonight or later and show you what I look like without the mask."   
  
He said while staring deeply into her eyes. Serenity couldn't seem to direct her eyes to anywhere else but him. She shifted uncomfortably on the stone bench. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she knew he was staring at her. "Then, can you fulfill my other request?" She asked, blushing. He smiled and nodded.   
  
"I will, but you must promise not to tell anyone, or I will be thrown in jail, or worse, shot by Diamond's men at dawn." He said, chuckling a little while Serenity giggled. "I promise. I never tell Diamond anything anyway." He took a breath and then let it out.   
  
"My name is Darien, but I don't know my last name. I am a commoner by day, but by night, I am the masked bandit that stands before you." He said smiling. Serenity laughed. "Darien, I think that's a nice name, better than just calling you Tuxedo mask all the time." Now, it was his turn to laugh. "Yes, I suppose it is." Serenity relaxed a little.   
  
"May I ask one more question?" She asked. He nodded and smiled. "Ask away." He said. Serenity kept her eyes on him the whole time. "I was wondering why you have no last name." She said. He shrugged, but then smiled and leaned forward towards her face. "I'll tell you later."   
  
He said as he leaned in for a kiss. Serenity leaned forward as well, and felt his hot breath on her lips as they drew closer. Finally, their lips locked in a sweet, but passionate kiss. Tuxedo mask slipped his arms around Serenity, while she slipped her arms around his neck. He hugged her tightly while she tightened her arms around his neck. The kiss became more passionate by the minute.   
  
Finally, the time came when they both no longer had any air left in their lungs and they parted. Tuxedo mask panted while Serenity did as well. 'Every time I kiss her, it just gets better and better every time.' He thought as he leaned in towards her again. Serenity giggled at his thoughts. He heard her giggle, but didn't pay much attention to it.  
  
"Care to try for a second one?" He said while smiling. Serenity smiled back and started leaning closer to him. But, before they could even get any closer, a bolt of lightning tore them apart. Tuxedo mask fell to the ground, but quickly got up. Serenity gasped. She looked to where the lightning bolt had come from.   
  
There stood her court, her four sailor scouts. "Leave the princess alone, you perverted psycho!" Sailor Jupiter said, while he stood there, a bit shaken up. "What? Me? I'm not a...." He started but Sailor Mars cut him off. "Save your explanations for the Prince. After that, we're throwing you in jail." She said while he regained himself. 'Great, not only am I being chased by palace guards, I'm being chased by women as well. But not in the way I expect it.' He thought and smirked.   
  
"Fine, you can throw me in jail, that is....if you can catch me!" He said while he made a run for the wall. Serenity looked on, not knowing what to do as her scouts ran after him.   
  
Meanwhile, the scouts ran after tuxedo mask, while he ran for the wall. Sailor Jupiter stopped. "Jupiter Thunder...." She said as she started charging up volts of electricity in her hands. "Crash!" She yelled as she directed the attack at him. He easily dogged it. "Damn it! This guy is a little faster than I thought!" Mars stepped up. "I'll try and slow him down next." She said as she stopped and powered up her attack. "Mars fire...." She started as fire appeared at the tips of her hands. "Ignite!" She finished as she aimed the attack directly at his back.   
  
It made a direct hit. Tuxedo mask let out a cry of pain and fell to one knee and tried to get up. Mars smiled, pleased with her job. "Your turn Mercury." Mars said as she passed her. Sailor Mercury nodded. "Okay. Mercury bubbles...." She said, creating a bubble in her hands. "Blast!" She said as she released it and it spread into a blinding mist.   
  
Tuxedo mask looked around, seeing that nothing was happening in the mist, quickly continued to try to get up. Sailor Venus stepped in. "Okay, now I'll just tie him up, and then we can turn him over to the palace guards." Venus raised one hand in the air and started her attack.   
  
"Venus love chain encircle!" She said as a chain of hearts came out of her fingertip and pointed at Tuxedo mask. He barely saw it coming, but didn't move. Sailor Venus felt that she had wrapped something up. "Ha! We got you now you perverted princess stalker!" Venus said triumphantly. Everyone looked at Venus funnily.   
  
"You perverted princess stalker? Please, I could have come up with something better than that!" Mars said as Venus blushed. "Yeah, well, I'd like to see you try!" Venus said, still slightly embarrassed. Mercury gasped. "Oh my gosh you guys, look!" She said, as the fog cleared. The scouts all looked to see what Venus had tied up. It surly wasn't Tuxedo mask, but a tree.   
  
They all held in their laughter as they looked around for him. "Looking for me, girls?" They herd a voice say. The scouts looked up to see Tuxedo mask safely standing on the edge of the high wall, smiling.   
  
"I told you to try and catch me if you could, but I guess you're no better than the palace guards. Oh well, another time then!" He said as he jumped off and safely landed on the other side and jumped on Diablo and rode away. Venus let go of her chain and it disappeared.   
  
"What did you guys do to Tuxedo mask? Is he hurt, where did he go?" Serenity asked as they all turned to see her. Sailor Mars crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you care? Did you know that guy or something?" Serenity quickly shook her head.   
  
"No, I was just wondering if you guys caught him." She said smiling. Sailor Mars shrugged it off. "Oh well. Hey, we haven't seen you in a while, so why don't we go inside and finish off the royal party and then throw a girl party in Serenity's room, what do you think Serenity?" She asked as Serenity squealed.   
  
"I think that's a wonderful idea." She said, cheerfully as they all followed her back to the ball. 'I hope you're alright, Darien, wherever you ran off to.' Serenity thought as they re-entered the palace.  
  
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Not much of cliffhanger, but still, please review!  
  
~Mackenzie 


	7. A midnight visitor

All right, I have realized it's been forever since I have updated so I will now. I'm also letting you all know that I may not get the next chapter out for a long time because I will be going back to school in about a week or two. But in the mean time, please keep on reviewing and I'll do my best to keep updating!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.  
  
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After the ball, Serenity and the girls went up to her room, after the Prince's court showed the four girls their rooms, which were unfortunately away from Serenity. They would reside on the same side of the palace, just on a different wall.  
  
They all sat in Serenity's room in a circle in their nightgowns on the floor while Serenity sat on her bed, reaching down every once in a while to get her a piece of the sweets that Lita had made especially for them.  
  
"Hey guys, did you see how that one guard was staring at me?" Mina squealed and sighed. "I think his name was uhm.....Malachite?" She said as she started to go off on a daydream. Lita laughed. "You mean that long white haired guy who looked like he got thrown in bleach? And that name, it's totally weird!" Lita said while laughing some more. Mina started pulling at the end of her orange nightgown.   
  
"Yeah well, Nephlight looks like he fell in a lot of mud for peat sakes! I mean did you see how brown his hair was? It's just not normal!" Mina said while Lita glared at her.   
  
"Ha! Some comeback, Mina. It's no better than, and I quote, "You perverted princess stalker!" unquote." Raye said while everyone else laughed. "Oh and how about that little attack she tried to pull to catch that masked man? I don't think we were chasing after a tree!" After Raye said that, everyone went into a fit of laughter and giggles, except Mina, who was blushing and glaring at all of them.   
  
"Now, I know what we can talk about...." Mina said. "How about the bleach blond that was staring at Raye the whole entire time?" Everyone looked at Raye and she instantly blushed. "He's not bleach blond! He's more like a dirty blond." She said, still blushing. Everyone laughed. "So, did you get his name?" Lita asked with a little smirk. Raye blushed more.   
  
"I think it was Jedite but I don't remember." She said as she was hoping that they could move on and embarrass someone else. Lita turned to Amy. "What about you Ames?" Lita asked. "Wh...what about me?" At this point, everyone leaned in, just to embarrass her.   
  
"So, what's his name Amy? We saw you talking to him. We even saw him kiss your hand!" Mina said, now very close to Amy's face. Amy blushed a very deep red. "If you....if you must know, his name is Zoycite. And he only kissed my hand to be polite." She said, knowing that the interrogation was over.   
  
"What about you, Serenity? Did you find the prince to be the man of your dreams?" Mina asked as everyone crowded around the princess. Serenity sighed. "No, but I did find someone better." She said, as everyone leaned in.  
  
"What's he like? What does he look like? Is he romantic? Tell us!" Raye said impatiently. Serenity blushed. "Hold on Raye, don't jump all over me!" She sighed as everyone waited in anxiousness to listen to her. Serenity took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm not telling." She said with a smile. Everyone groaned.   
  
"Serenity, how could you deprive us of your love life? We have to be apart of it remember? We're your guardians, your court, and your friends, so we are obligated to know anything and everything about you, so spill!" Mina said, right up in Serenity's face. Serenity scooted away.  
  
"Oh come on, you guys know that I can't fall in love with anyone else other than prince Diamond, which will never happen. He's an over obsessive jerk who doesn't give a, excuse my language, damn about his kingdom or his future wife. I mean the man, no, demon is pure evil. He'll probably kill me on the honeymoon." Once Serenity finished, everyone gasped.   
  
"If this prince is as bad as you say he is, Serenity, then we have to somehow get you out of this marriage and fast." Amy said, while everyone thought about. "Well, Serenity has been with him the longest and we have yet to see him do anything, so I say we trust her judgment. I mean, Serenity wouldn't lie to get out of an arranged marriage, right? Sure she's played some nasty tricks on her suitors, but I don't think she would ever lie to us, so what she's saying must be true." Lita said. Raye nodded.   
  
"Well, if that is the case, then lets go to the queen tomorrow and call it off. Easy and simple." She said with triumph, as usual. Serenity shook her head.   
  
"It's not that simple, Raye. Once I arrived on this planet, I'm stuck with the earth prince, forever. There is no calling it off, there is no breaking the treaty that the earth and moon alliances have made. It's hopeless!" She cried while tears formed in her eyes.   
  
Everyone sighed. They hated to see their princess in tears.   
  
"Don't worry, Serenity. Love will work its way though in the end, you'll see. If it doesn't, then I'm not the love goddess, Sailor Venus!" Mina said, while jumping up from her place on the floor and making a V sign with her fingers.   
  
Everyone looked at her funnily and started laughing. Suddenly, everyone heard a tap coming from Serenity's balcony doors. "Uh, are you expecting a visitor, Serenity?" Amy asked. Serenity shook her head and then thought for a second.   
  
'Oh no, Tuxedo mask's here! If I let the girls see him, he'll get caught and then who knows what will happen?' She snapped out of her thoughts long enough to see Lita get up and go towards the doors. "I'm going to go see what that was." She said as she got closer to the doors, but Serenity quickly hopped up and blocked her.   
  
"Uh...er...uhm...Let me go. I sometimes get really pretty birds that come up to my balcony and I don't want to miss even one so I got this undercover, you can go back and sit with the girls." She said, nervously. Serenity's heart was pounding out of nervousness. She heard another tap on the window. Lita shrugged.   
  
"Ok, Serenity, if you're sure." She said as she went back to the little group. Serenity started to open the doors to the balcony. "Holler if you see that "Perverted princess stalker!"" Raye called as Mina glared at her. "Ok you can shut it now, Raye. It's not funny anymore!" Mina said angrily. Raye stood up and posed like Mina had a few moments ago. She started to say things that made everyone else laugh, except Mina. "Ok, Raye, you're dead!" Mina hollered playfully and tackled Raye.   
  
While everyone was talking at once and dog piling Raye, Serenity was outside on her balcony with the very same man she was thinking about. "Having a party in there that you forgot to mention to me about?" Tuxedo mask asked while he smirked. Serenity giggled. "No actually it was an unplanned party. And besides, you don't want to get chased again do you? They could hurt you this time." She said as she giggled, but it stopped as he turned to show her his charred tuxedo back and his burnt back.   
  
"They DID hurt me last time." He said as he chuckled slightly, but winced as he did so. "That one that controls fire did that. It hurts like hell." He said as he turned around to face her. Serenity looked up at him with concerned eyes.   
  
"Did they do anything else to you? Did they hurt you anywhere else? Oh Darien, I'm so sorry!" She said as she stepped closer to him and hugged him tightly. Tuxedo mask smiled. "It's okay, Serenity. They didn't injure me that badly. And I'm surprised that you remembered my name." He said as he pulled her away from him and she blushed. "I think I can help ease the pain and heal it fast." She said as he looked down at her funnily.   
  
"Do you have special powers or something?" He asked. Serenity just smiled a trustworthy smile. "Well, sort of." She said as she turned him around so his back faced her. "Now, just close your eyes and clear your mind, Darien." She said to him while her hand neared his back. He hissed in a breath and bit his lip when she touched his back.   
  
"Ow, that hurts, Serenity." He said while trying to keep himself from just ending his misery by jumping off her balcony. He once again closed his eyes and let her do whatever she was going to do to him. Tuxedo mask suddenly felt warmth spreading though his body and felt the pain start to dissipate.   
  
He vaguely saw a bright flash of white light and then it quickly faded, leaving Serenity's soft hand on his back. He shivered at her touch. 'Her hand feels so soft and warm. I wonder if the rest of her is too?' He thought as that made a blush creep across his cheeks. She took her hand off of his back and he turned to her. "I don't suppose you know how to magically sow my tux back do you?" He asked as she laughed. "No, but your payment is due." She said. He looked down at her, confused.   
  
"My payment? What..." He trailed off. "Oh, yes, I have to take my mask off for you. Well, okay, if you're sure you want to see me without it." He said as he lifted his hand up to take it off. Serenity kept her gaze on him, never wanting to miss one moment of his unmasking.   
  
Once he did, she gasped. He had the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen. They probably looked bluer than the deepest ocean. And with that black hair falling into them, Serenity thought she was going to faint at the all too handsome man that stood before her. She felt her knees grow weak. Her thoughts drifted elsewhere, to a place in her mind she never knew she had. She blushed deeply at her own thoughts.   
  
"So now that you have seen me, what do you think Serenity?" He asked as he smirked. She blushed even more. "I...um...er...ah...what I mean is.....uh...." Serenity felt so embarrassed. She hadn't met a man this handsome before in her life. Sure some of her suitors were handsome, but Darien. He went beyond all of them. Darien chuckled. "Speechless are we now?" He asked, mockingly. He suddenly sighed and stepped closer to her. "I have to be on my way now." He said as he pulled her closer to him. Her arms instantly wrapped around his neck and she sighed.   
  
"I know, but can I ask a favor of you?" She asked as she tightened her arms around him. "I'll do anything for you, my princess. Just name it." He said, which made her blush. "Well, I was wondering if you could come and visit me every night. Just some relief off having to be around Diamond all of the time." Serenity said as she looked up at him with pleading eyes. Darien smiled. "Of course I will." He said as she smiled in delight.   
  
He slowly leaned down to kiss her, as she stood on her tiptoes to reach his lips. Once they touched, Darien pulled her as close as he could get her to him. His arms were wrapped around her small waist, while her's were wrapped tightly around his neck.   
  
Little by little, Darien kept on deepening the kiss until he finally mustered up enough courage to slowly enter his way into her mouth with his tongue. Serenity gasped as he tasted her, her tongue wrapped in his. But, soon Darien found himself not able to breath and broke the tender kiss.   
  
Serenity tried to open her eyes but could only open them half way. Darien smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow night then." He said as he smiled charmingly at her and then jumped off her balcony and over a wall and rode off into the night of the forest. Serenity sighed and went back into her room.   
  
Once Serenity had gotten back in her room, everyone decided to retire for the night and bid goodnight to Serenity and went to their rooms. A little while later, everyone was asleep, well, not everyone.   
  
Mina was still awake in bed, thinking. 'I wonder what that strange burst of passion was from? I've never felt anything like it before. Oh well, I guess it'll just remain a mystery.' She thought as she fell into a deep sleep.   
  
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Sorry that was so short. I'll try and make it longer next time ok!  
  
~mackenzie 


	8. A fight between friends

I'm so sorry for the long delay, but if any of you are or have been in high school you know that the first two weeks are hectic. I'm really sorry for this and now I will make it up with a new chapter for you all! Yet again, do NOT blame me, blame school, with it's tiring hours and after school functions!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
  
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Over the weeks that followed, Serenity spent a lot of time with each of the girls, catching up on things that they missed during their time away from each other.   
  
But what the girls didn't know was that Serenity was also seeing someone else other than her best friends, her midnight visitor, Tuxedo mask.   
  
Every night he came to her and held long conversations with her and some times stayed out on her balcony and watched the stars. No matter how tired she was, Serenity was always giving Tuxedo mask a passionate kiss before he left. Serenity now stood out on her balcony looking at the sky with white puffy clouds overhead. She smiled, as she smelt the fresh morning air.   
  
Suddenly, Serenity felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Mina standing next to her. "Hey, Serenity. What 'cha doing?" She asked as she took in the view from Serenity's balcony. In the distance she saw the city and wondered what it would be like to go there. "I wouldn't try it Mina. All sorts of things could happen out there." Serenity said as Mina shrugged and pouted.   
  
"Oh come on Sere, can we go please, please?" She begged as Serenity shook her head, then she got an idea. "I have to go into town anyway to get Lita some bread for her famous roast beef sandwiches!" Once she had said that, Serenity stood at full attention.   
  
"Really? Lita is going to make those TODAY?!" Serenity squealed with delight as Mina nodded. Serenity quickly ushered Mina out her door. "Well, hurry up Mina! We don't want to keep Lita waiting for that bread! Hurry and get dressed!" She said as she closed her door and picked out a gown for the day.   
  
Meanwhile, Darien was at the bread shop, sitting at a table, daydreaming about Serenity like there was no tomorrow. It wasn't until he saw Andrew waving a hand in front of his face and yelling at him.   
  
"Come on Darien! We need to get this guy a full load of bread or he'll never come back again!" He said as he hurriedly picked up a couple of bags of bread and carried them outside to the awaiting carriage. Darien sighed and stretched and got up out of his seat in front of the table and went outside to help Andrew.   
  
During the day they saw mostly men coming from different bakeries to buy some bread from them, but the time finally came when he saw two females come towards their shop. Darien gasped when he realized who it was.   
  
'Serenity? What is she doing here?' He thought to himself as everyone she passed bowed down to her and the girl beside her.   
  
Once they got to the bread shop, Andrew immediately bowed before the princesses. Darien just stood there, looking dumbstruck. Serenity hid her giggle as Mina commanded him to bow.   
  
"Sir, I demand that you bow down before the princess of the Moon, princess Serenity and myself, princess Mina of Venus!" Darien didn't bow down. He did just the opposite. He took two steps towards Serenity and kissed her hand.   
  
"Pleasure to meet you, Princess." He said as Serenity shivered. She still got that weird and funny sensation when Darien kissed her anywhere. Although she knew that Darien knew her, she decided to play along.   
  
"Pleased to meet you, good sir." She said as she gave them the signal to rise. Andrew rose, glaring at Darien a bit. After Mina had given them the order, Andrew led Darien to the back room and closed the door.   
  
"What in the hell did you think you were doing?!" He yelled as Darien tried to calm him down. "Andrew, I was only trying to be nice to...." Darien tried to finish but Andrew cut him off.   
  
"To try and seduce the princess, right?" He asked angrily. Darien shook his head. "No! I wouldn't do anything like that!" He said as he raised his hands in defense. "Yeah. What about the rumors I've been hearing about a masked man named TUXEDO MASK sneaking around the palace almost every night and going towards the princess's bedroom huh? And don't say it wasn't you, because only I know that you're the real tuxedo mask, Darien!" Andrew said to him angrily.   
  
"If you keep this up and they find out who you are, the guards will know that I'm your accomplice and my bread shop will be shut down and I'll have to go and rot in jail with you for the rest of my freaking life!" Andrew continued to yell. Darien still tried to calm him down.   
  
"Andrew, relax. They're only rumors, I mean you can't believe everything you hear." Darien said, cheerfully.   
  
Andrew took out the newspaper. "How about everything you read and see?" He said as he tossed it onto the table for Darien to see. On the front cover was a picture of tuxedo mask escaping over the castle wall, like he always did. Darien stared at it stunned. "I.... how...when was that taken? I saw no flashes of light!" He said in disbelief as he stared at the picture of himself.   
  
"You know why that was taken? Because someone let stupidity and idiocy take over, plus a dash of blind love!" He said more angrily. "If I see anymore things in the paper like this again, Darien, I'm quitting." Andrew said as he went outside to fulfill the order. Darien stood there, not believing what his best friend since childhood had just said to him. "I'm sorry, my friend." He said to himself, since Andrew couldn't hear him.   
  
Then Darien thought over Andrew's words. Blind love. Was that what it really was? He wasn't sure if he even loved the princess. He thought he just had a little crush on her, that's all.   
  
With that in mind, Darien headed out to help Andrew, but once he saw Serenity again, he lost his nerve to even move. 'Maybe I am 'slightly' in love with her. But I can't ever tell Serenity that. If Prince Diamond ever found out that I was visiting his fiancé every night, he'd post extra guards at her room and then I would be caught for sure.' He sighed as he ran his fingers though his ebony hair.   
  
He had a woman he actually cared for that was so close, and yet so far away. He hated having a life of secrecy now, but it was the only way to keep seeing Serenity.   
  
A little while later, Darien was helping Andrew find the bread and give it to the girls. Serenity smiled at Darien, while he stood there, staring at her and grinning stupidly. She giggled a little as Mina watched the two flirt from afar and held the bread. She smiled a little.   
  
'At least she can flirt with guys when Diamond isn't around.' Mina thought with a smile. "Well, we'll be leaving. Come on Serenity." Mina said as she exited the shop. Serenity turned and looked at Darien one more time, before she left.   
  
Darien sighed and ran his hand though his hair once more. 'My life just gets more complicated just because I know Serenity.' He thought as he went back to working with Andrew.   
  
'But do I have a surprise for Serenity tomorrow.' He thought as he worked harder at the thought of seeing Serenity again.   
  
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Sorry if it's a bit short, but hey, a chapter is a chapter. Anyway please review!  
  
~mackenzie 


	9. Tuxedo Mask's surprise visit

Yet again, I kept wanting to put out chapters but noooo, school won't let me! They some how must know that I am a writer for FF.net! Teachers and principals somehow always find out your secrets! Anyway, I going to try to get a new chapter out each week for at least 1 of my stories each week possibly on Fridays and Saturdays, so that could mean a maximum of two chapters per week! So, that's what I am going for so everyone won't have to wait so long for the new chapters to come out! Anyway, on with the chapter!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.  
  
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It was early morning in the palace when Serenity woke up. Actually, Mina was the wakeup call that morning, and having someone somehow get into your room and jump on your bed to wake you up wasn't exactly what one would call pleasant.   
  
Serenity stood before the sink and the mirror in her bathroom and smiled to herself. She had nothing but wonderful dreams of Darien. Some of her dreams took place outside her balcony window, where Darien took her away from the palace and went off to live together.   
  
One also really got her. It happened to be herself married to Darien, with him as the king of the earth and herself as his queen, but the thing about it that got to her was that it felt so real, too real. Serenity shook that dream out of her mind, for the moment.   
  
'That's impossible,' She thought as she picked out her favorite white gown to put on for the day. 'I could never get married to Darien. He's a commoner and a bandit, besides there's no way I can work my way out of the deal of marrying Dimindo. My mother has already sealed my fate, and unfortunately, it's not in the hands of Darien.' She thought and sighed as she walked towards her door, but stopped when she heard a tapping noise at her balcony window.   
  
She smiled, as she already knew who it was. She kept smiling as she reached the doors to the outside. Tuxedo mask stood before her, just smiling his usual smile when he saw her. She quickly looked around to see if any guards were around to catch him, there weren't any.   
  
So, she quickly grabbed him by his tuxedo shirt and dragged him inside and shut the doors. When they got inside, she turned around to face him. "What in the world do you think you're doing here, Darien? I thought you told me you only could come at night to see me so the guards wouldn't see you." Serenity stated as he smirked.   
  
"Well Serenity, I couldn't wait that long to see you. I miss you too much." He said as he pulled her to him and leaned downwards to kiss her, but stopped when he was about one inch from her lips. She could feel his warm breath against her face and lips.   
  
"Don't tell me you don't miss having me around because I know you do." He whispered to her. He smiled when he saw that Serenity had a look of longing and want for him in her eyes. With Serenity's arms around his neck, he slipped his arms around her small waist and back while he drew her closer to him to kiss her.   
  
'Oh my gosh, this is almost like my dreams, only its real!' Was her last thought before he kissed her. She immediately felt warmth swarm throughout her whole body as her arms tightened around him. The kiss quickly became passionate.   
  
Darien's hands seemed to have a mind of their own when they started to slowly slip downwards. Serenity gasped as he let go of her. "I..I...I'm so sorry Serenity, I...I didn't mean to...." Darien didn't know what to say. At first it had started off as just a simple passionate kiss, now it turned into him being....well....perverted all of a sudden.   
  
Serenity only smiled, seeing that it was only an accident. "It's okay Darien, I forgive you. It was probably just a little mistake so it's all right." She said to him, with her reassuring smile. He had no choice but to smile back. He had no idea of what to say or do now.   
  
'You know what you came here for, Darien. Get to it!' His mind reminded him and snapped him out of his shock. "Serenity, how would you like to spend the day with me? Provided we won't get caught." He asked her. She looked at him funnily. "Say that I said yes, provided we wouldn't get caught, where would you take me?" Darien only smiled a mischievous smile.  
  
"I guess the only way you'll ever find out is to come with me and see for yourself." He said as he led her out the doors and to the edge of the balcony. Tuxedo mask easily jumped off and landed safely, he then turned around and looked up at Serenity, who was now standing on the railing, trying to keep her balance. She looked down at him, but that wasn't exactly a good idea. She hated heights and hated it even more that she would have to jump down from a two-story palace.   
  
"Come on Serenity, I promise I won't let you get hurt." He said as he held his arms out to catch her. Serenity somehow regained her confidence and, with a deep breath, jumped off the edge and landed safely in Tuxedo mask's arms. She sighed when he put her back down on the ground, happy that she was still alive.   
  
From around the corner, Tuxedo Mask brought his stallion to where Serenity stood. She smiled at it and reached out to touch him. Tuxedo Mask gasped and tried to stop her. "Serenity, don't touch him, he may...." He trailed off when Diablo just stood there and then nuzzled Serenity gently after she had started to pet him. She giggled and then looked over at the surprised looking Tuxedo Mask. "What's wrong Darien? Haven't you ever seen me with a horse before?" She asked as he walked over to them.   
  
"No, it's not that it's just that...Diablo never let anyone who he didn't know touch him before. He would either chase them away or try to bite them." He said as Serenity looked at him and then back at Diablo and smiled.   
  
"Well, maybe he already likes me or I'm just different from anyone else he's met." She said as he nuzzled her again and Serenity laughed. "Hey you, that tickles!" She said as she continued to pet him. Darien sighed. 'I also think you're different from all the other girls I have met.' He thought as he watched his loyal steed and his princess get to know each other. Later, Tuxedo Mask had put Serenity on Diablo and got up there himself and rode off into the forest. Luckily, no one saw them leave the palace so they were safe.   
  
During the whole ride, Serenity had her arms wrapped around Darien's sides and stomach. She held on tightly to him the whole way, that part Darien enjoyed because he could feel her warm body against his back.   
  
When they finally stopped, Serenity looked up to see a small house, a horse stall and a small stream with a waterfall next to it. Tuxedo Mask turned to look at her and smiled. "Welcome to my forest hideout, Serenity."   
  
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Well, that's it for this chapter, sorry to leave you in a cliff hanger but I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible but in the mean time, read and review!  
  
~mackenzie 


	10. A day to remember

Ok everyone! I know its past Christmas now, but here's your late Christmas present or better yet, it's your New Years present! Anyway, here is your new chapter that I have been trying to get out for days now. As always, read and review. (I don't have much to say this time ^.^)   
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
  
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Serenity looked around the place to where Darien had called his hideout. Darien got off Diablo and helped Serenity climb down as well. She continued to look around; amazed that anyone could live out here.   
  
"Does anyone else live around here?" She said as she followed Darien while he put Diablo in the stable. "No, just me and Diablo and...." He was cut off by an angry voice. "Darien, what in the...." Andrew was just about to say "What in the hell" when he remembered that he was in the presence of a lady and most importantly, a princess so he stopped and corrected himself.   
  
"Darien, what in the world do you think you're doing?" He said, still a bit angry. Darien only smiled. "I think that I am putting Diablo back in his stall." He said as he tied him up and put some horse food in front of him and walked out. Andrew was getting pretty ticked now.   
  
"I know that Darien, I mean what are you doing out here with the princess?" He said as Darien headed towards the little house and Serenity followed him. Andrew growled as he followed them. "Well, nothing yet." Darien said as he took off his tuxedo jacket and tie and was beginning to unbutton his shirt. Andrew grit his teeth. "I want a real answer Darien, not one of your smart ass witty retorts!" He said, forgetting that Serenity was still in the room.   
  
Once he had gotten all the buttons undone, he took his shirt off and threw it into a nearby chair, where his tuxedo jacket was. Serenity blushed when she saw how built he actually was without the shirt.   
  
When he started to take off his pants, Serenity quickly turned and looked away. She was still a virgin for crying out loud. She didn't need to see half-naked men, or did she? She quickly shook that thought from her mind and waited until he had actual clothes on.  
  
Meanwhile, Andrew continued to glare at Darien while he changed his clothes. "So, what's your answer?" He asked through gritted teeth. Darien gestured as if he looked thoughtful for a moment and then answered. "What was the question again?" he asked. Andrew grit his teeth some more.   
  
"Why is Princess Serenity here?" He asked through his teeth again. Darien smiled as he finished putting on some other pair of black slacks and started putting on his shirt and buttoning it. "She is here because I invited her to spend the day with me and she accepted my invitation." He said as he looked over at Serenity, who he knew was blushing without even looking at her. "It's okay to look at me now, Serenity. I'm not in a state of undress anymore." He said chuckling.   
  
Serenity slowly turned to see him fully dressed, but then she giggled as she noticed something. "Is the hat and the mast part of your daily attire or do you just not like taking them off?" She asked as he felt for the mask on his face and felt for the hat on his head. Sure enough, they were still on him. He blushed and chuckled a little.   
  
"I guess when you wear them for so long, you forget that they're there." He said as he took them off and laid them on the table next to the chair.   
  
After he had done that, he walked over to Serenity and started to lead her out the door, but before they could leave, Andrew grabbed Darien by his arm and turned him around to face him. "If you do anything to the princess while you're out there, I will seriously hurt you and I will quit being your faithful sidekick so-to-speak." He said seriously. Darien only chuckled and turned to go but Andrew yanked him back.   
  
"I'm serious. If you so much as...." He trailed off as Darien jerked his arm away. "Andrew, quit being so....I don't know, so....defensive all the time. I mean I haven't been caught at the palace even once so don't worry about it." He said as he gave him a pat on the back and went out to Serenity. Andrew sighed. 'You're in much more trouble than you think.' He thought as he went to go do some chores around the small house.   
  
Meanwhile, Darien led Serenity to the back of the house. "Come on Serenity, there's something back here that I want to show you." He said as he quickly led her around to stop at the back. Serenity gasped as she looked at what he wanted to show to her. It was a garden filled with white and red roses.   
  
They were all very beautiful. Serenity went farther into the garden and felt the red rose petals. Serenity was truly amazed. 'There must be hundreds, maybe thousands of them. Oh, these are even more beautiful than the ones at the palace!' Serenity thought as Darien smiled, happy that Serenity admired his hard work.   
  
"Who takes care of them?" Serenity asked as she turned to see Darien who was smiling at her. "Me." He said simply. She only nodded as she turned back to look at them.   
  
"They're really beautiful, Darien you did a lovely job..." She trailed off as she saw a red rose and a white rose being held up in front of her. Serenity took them both and looked at Darien, who was just smiling.   
  
"I'm glad you like them, Serenity." He said as he took her into his arms and looked down into her eyes. Serenity couldn't help but look up at him and into his eyes as well. Darien moved a stray blond hair away from her face and continued to look down into her eyes. "Serenity, you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my entire life." That comment, caused her to blush and burry her head against his chest. Darien laughed and Serenity could feel his laugh rumble in his chest as she dared to look up at him again. "I really mean it too, Serenity. You're the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my entire life, not just on the outside, but your personality, just everything about you is." He said as Serenity blushed an even deeper shade of pink.   
  
"You're even beautiful when you blush." He said as she continued to look up at him. "I think I have fallen in love with you, Serenity, but I'll have to try not to think about it or even say that I do to you ever again." He said sadly. Serenity frowned. "Why not?" She said as she felt her own heart skip a beat as she remembered his words that he had fallen in love with her. He sighed.   
  
"Because, you're getting married to Diamond. You don't want to know that you have someone else out there that loves you and know that you're slowly, but surely and painfully breaking his heart, do you?" Before he could get an answer, Serenity jumped into his arms and kissed his lips passionately. After he got over the slight shock, he started kissing her back, but tripped over her dress and fell right on top of her.   
  
They broke the kiss and then they burst out laughing. "Well, now I guess we have to go wash your dress." He said as he helped her up and held her hand as they walked towards the little stream with the waterfall. He slowly helped Serenity in the cool, crystal clear water.   
  
The water only reached up about to Serenity's mid-section. She began to start scrubbing off her dress when she looked over at Darien, who was sitting by the edge of the water, watching her. Serenity smiled at him and motioned for him to come in. Darien shook his head, but Serenity didn't take no for an answer, so she went over to him, grabbed his collar and pulled him in. He yelled and fell in. Serenity giggled as she waited for him to come back up. "Darien?" She asked as she slowly walked around, waiting for him to surface.   
  
'Oh no, what if he can't swim. I may have unknowingly drowned him!' Serenity thought as she began to panic. But suddenly, she felt something wrap it's arms around her body and pull her below the surface. Serenity gasped before she went under.   
  
Once she was pulled under the arms let go of her and she came up to see Darien laughing at her. "Oh ha, ha, very funny Darien. Don't you ever scare me like that again!" She yelled, but was thankful he didn't drown.   
  
After he had gotten done laughing at her, he pulled her into his arms again and smiled at her. Serenity wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "Did you really mean what you said?" Serenity asked as Darien looked confused.   
  
"I don't know, what did I say?" He asked. "You said that you had fallen in love with me, is that true, Darien?" She asked, hoping his answer would be yes. Darien sighed. "Serena, out of all the women I have met and dated, you are the one that shines above all the rest of them. You're much more than just a princess and I see past that, but assholes like Diamond don't see that." He said as he made Serenity smile. "You really mean that?" She asked as she hoped for the same answer.   
  
"Yes, I do Serenity. I love you." He said as he leaned in to kiss her again. Serenity sighed and kissed him back. That one small kiss had turned into a passionate one and continued from there as Darien started to kiss down Serenity's neck. She sighed in ecstasy as his lips went lower.   
  
Their moment was cut short buy an angry voice yelling. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" They both looked up to see a very, very angry Andrew. Darien immediately let go of Serenity.   
  
"Andrew I can explain." He said as he started to get out, but Andrew stopped him. "There is no need for an explanation for this, Darien. I threatened to quit and that's just what I am going to do." He said as he stopped back to the house and started to pack his things. After Darien helped Serenity out of the stream, he caught up with Andrew. "But, where are you going to go?" He asked as Andrew tried to pack the remainder of his things.   
  
"I will live at the bakery and still work there, and I don't care if you do come to work with me or not, because it seems like you're too busy trying to get your hands down Serenity's dress to even care about work anymore. I mean you haven't stolen even one thing in about a month after you met Serenity. So I bid you goodbye Darien. Until we meet again." He said as he picked up two suitcases and went out the door, passing Serenity on his way out. Darien sighed and plopped down in his chair and sighed.   
  
"I never thought it would come to this, ever." He said as he sighed once more and rubbed his head. Serenity felt sorry for him. He had just lost a friend over her and Andrew wouldn't have caught them if she hadn't dragged Darien into the water.   
  
"I'm sorry I made you loose your friend." Serenity said as she looked down to the floor sadly. Darien got up and tilted her chin so she would look up at him. "Look, it's not your fault. Andrew and I have been having some arguments lately, we always do, but we'll fix it later. Don't worry about it ok?" He said as he smiled, which in turn made Serenity smile as well.   
  
Later, Darien, in his usual tuxedo mask costume, took Serenity back to the palace. It was easy getting in because Diamond obviously hadn't posted guards at the gates or the walls or the usual places he normally would. He quickly jumped off Diablo and helped Serenity down.   
  
Then he got to the not so easy task of getting Serenity back up to the balcony, which was two stories up off the ground. Later, after much struggle, and the threat of Serenity falling off of Tuxedo mask's back, he climbed up to the balcony and got them in safely. He was about to leave, but before he could even turn to say goodnight to Serenity, she already had him in a passionate kiss.   
  
'How many times has she done this today?' He thought to himself jokingly as they pulled out of the kiss, but when they did, Darien saw something in Serenity's eyes that he hadn't before. Serenity smiled and started to pull him towards the bed. "You have nothing important to do, right?" She asked him as she sat down on the bed and looked up at him. Darien gulped. He didn't know what that look in Serenity's eyes were and he sure didn't want to find out, but oddly enough half of him did. Darien decided to answer.   
  
"No, why?" He asked, wondering what she could possibly want. Serenity shifted on the bed a little. "I want to know what it would be like to make love to someone you really do love." She said as she blushed. Darien was shocked beyond anything. She, the princess of the moon, wanted to make love to a commoner and a bandit like himself? He quickly shook images out of his mind and tried to speak calmly and clearly.   
  
"But you're going to be married Serenity. You have a fiancé that's about to become your husband and king. Don't you think you should save yourself for him?" Darien couldn't believe what he was saying, but in a way he did have a point. Serenity shook her head. "I know my first time should be with my husband but I also know it should be with someone you truly love. You and I both know I could never love Diamond and all he sees me for is another slave to do his bidding. That someone I truly love is you Darien."   
  
She said as she pulled him by his hands onto the spot next to her on the bed. He had dared to look Serenity right in the eyes and that ultimately took his defenses down. Her eyes were literally begging him to agree to her request. Darien sighed and shook his head.   
  
"What if we get caught?" He asked, still considering saying no. Serenity looked to her door and then at him. "My door stays locked most of the time so we can't possibly get caught." She said. Darien smirked.   
  
"God, now you're starting to sound like me." He said as he laughed a little. Serenity blushed. "Well, that sort of thing happens when you're in love with someone. So, will you?" She asked again, making sure to never let her eyes leave his. Darien gave in. He just couldn't resist her and those pleading, but beautiful eyes.   
  
He slowly took her into his arms and started to kiss around her face. "Are you completely sure you want me to be your first?" He whispered against her lips. Serenity sighed. "Yes, I do Darien. More than anyone else in the whole galaxy." She said before he kissed her passionately while slowly laying her down on the bed. Soon they began to take each other's clothing off and that began one of the most passionate nights in both of their lives.  
  
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Well I'll update this soon, (I hope) but before I do, please leave me lots and lots of good reviews! Oh yeah and......  
  
HAPPY NEW YEAR!   
  
~mackenzie 


	11. Morning surprises

Hey again from me! Well, I think I have reached my goal this week of updating two of my stories! Anyway, I'm also coming out with new ones as well, so look forward to that and so, here is my new chapter!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.   
  
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It was just before dawn when Mina woke up. She looked towards her window to see that the sun hadn't even come up yet. She groaned and looked at her watch sitting on the nightstand by her bed.   
  
'My goddess, even I don't get up this early back on Venus. Oh well at least I can get a few breakfast snacks from the kitchen before the cooks wake up.' She thought to herself as she quickly got up and changed out of her orange sleeping gown, and into her scout uniform. After she had combed her hair and tied it up into her usual red bow, and brushed her teeth, she slowly opened her door and poked her head out, just barely enough to see that no guards or anyone else for that matter, were around.   
  
Mina smiled to herself and stepped out of her room quietly and closed the door. She looked down the hall quickly and then made a run for the stairs across the hall. She was about to make it to the stairs when she heard a click-click sound. She looked down at her feet and realized her shoes were making the noise and stopped.   
  
"Damn it! Curse my little fashion statement!" She said to herself out loud and then covered her mouth. "Stupid me." She whispered to herself as she looked behind her to see if anyone was there to hear her. She sighed with relief when she still didn't see anyone. She was about to continue on her quest for early food when she smashed into something, knocking her down.   
  
"Since when was a wall here?" She asked as she got up and rubbed her now in pain butt. She looked up to see Lita in her uniform as well, standing there, blocking her path to food heaven.   
  
"What are you doing up so early Lita?" She asked as she stood in front of her. Lita smirked. "I was about to ask you the same question." She said, still smirking. Mina laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Well, I was going to get an early breakfast, but now I changed my mind." Lita laughed.   
  
"Good thing I caught you too, or you would have eaten out the whole palace!" She laughed as Mina pouted. "Hey, now I don't eat that much. You have to admit though, Serenity eats much more than I do!" She said, making Lita laugh again.   
  
"True, true. Even she knows she does but you know we'd never tell her that." She said as they began walking towards the courtyard. "You know I wonder how Serenity is doing. I mean we didn't even check up on her yesterday." Mina said as they continued to walk down the hall. Lita sighed.   
  
"I know but we had to leave her alone yesterday, remember? Diamond and his generals had to brief us all and train us, just in case that Tuxedo mask guy comes back." She said seriously. Mina sighed. "You know, I don't think he's all that dangerous as Diamond told us to tell the truth." Mina said as they passed Amy and Raye's rooms. Lita shook her head.   
  
"I don't think so, Mina. If he can get away from Diamond's guards, and us even, then I think he does pose as a threat to Serenity and the kingdoms." She said as she suddenly stopped to look back at Mina, who fell behind. She was standing in front of Serenity's room. Lita came back to stand beside her.   
  
"What's wrong Mina? Is there something wrong with Serenity?" She asked, as she looked at the door, ready to take it down. Lita was surprised to see Mina turn to her with a big smile on her face. "I don't think we need to worry." She said, as her smile grew bigger. Lita looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" She asked. Mina put Lita's hand to the door.   
  
"Don't you feel that? It's the aura of love, and there are two energies within." She said. Lita still looked a little confused. "So what does that mean?" Mina smiled. "It means that Diamond and Serenity are one now." She said as she saw Lita's face turn completely red.   
  
"So you mean that she and he did....had..." Lita trailed off as Mina nodded. Lita smiled. "Well, when she gets up, we definitely need the details. ALL the details." She said as they both laughed and walked away.  
  
Meanwhile in Serenity's room, Darien had heard the girl's conversation and smiled. 'They're right about Serenity and I doing "something" but she didn't make love to the guy they think she did.' He thought to himself and smiled as he looked down at the sleeping Serenity. She still had her arms wrapped around him while her head lay on his chest.   
  
He sighed deeply as he looked from her to the ceiling. Last night had been one of the greatest nights in Darien's life, even though it had only been his first time, he was still very much satisfied. Not just with the fact that they had made love, or the fact that he was no longer a virgin, but the fact that Serenity loved him and he loved her back. It didn't matter to Serenity if he had money or if he had a position in any kingdom or hierarchy.   
  
What mattered to her was that he loved her for her, and not for her looks or her position as princess of the moon. Darien looked back down at Serenity and then yawned. Even after he had tired himself out, and after Serenity had gone to sleep, he didn't sleep for even a few minutes.   
  
He had stayed up for the rest of the night, just watching her, half believing he was actually in Serenity's bed and half believing it was only a dream. Suddenly, he saw sunlight stream into Serenity's room through her balcony door windows.   
  
'The first rays of the morning sun.' He thought as he yawned once more. 'I planned to leave at sun rise, but I think I can go over the time by a few minutes for a little shut eye.' He thought to himself as he settled himself back into the bed.   
  
When he did that, Darien felt Serenity stir and made a little sound as she snuggled closer to him and sighed. Darien smiled as he yawned once more before he fell into a peaceful sleep.   
  
Later, Serenity had woken up. She looked over at the clock on the wall across from the bed and sighed. She had slept in. She sighed and put her head back down on Darien's chest and smiled. Darien had given so much of his love to her last night that she could hardly believe this was true.   
  
One of her hands that lay on his chest across from her face began to follow every outline of his chest as she began thinking deeply. Last night was one of the most amazing nights in her whole entire life and she didn't regret it one bit. Throughout the whole ordeal, Serenity felt nothing less but love and complete devotion last night. She looked up at Darien and smiled.   
  
He was lightly snoring, but he looked so cute and sweet and innocent in his sleep. Serenity giggled a little as she continued to watch him. After a few moments, Darien slowly started to wake up. Serenity continued to watch him. After he had looked at the ceiling, which looked like a white blur to him, he rubbed his eyes and then looked down at Serenity, surprised to see that she was awake. Darien smiled and kissed the top of her head.   
  
"So, how do you feel?" He asked as she sighed and stretched out beside him. "Oh, words cannot describe how I feel right now, Darien. I feel so....so good, so alive. I've never felt anything like this before in my entire life!" She said as he chuckled. "I hope I didn't hurt you too much last night." He said with concern. Serenity only smiled. "Oh don't worry Darien. It only hurt for a moment or two but the rest of the time...." She sighed as she trailed off.   
  
"Oh, it was so amazing." She said as she lightly kissed his cheek. Darien couldn't help but smile. "Serenity, did I tell you how much I love you and how beautiful you are?" He said as he held her closer. Serenity smiled.   
  
"Yes, about a million other times last night." She said as she continued to look up at him and smile. "Darien?" She asked as he stroked his hand through her blond hair while looking down into her eyes. "Uh-huh?" He asked while still running his hand through her long, golden hair.   
  
"I wish you were the prince instead of Diamond." She said as she snuggled as close as she could get to him.   
  
With that remark, Darien's thoughts went back to the feelings of familiarity he had felt every time he entered the palace, like he belonged and yet, he knew he didn't. 'Maybe there's some unknown connection between the palace, and me but what could it be? As far as I know, I was orphaned and I have never been in the palace in my entire life.' He thought as he came back to reality to see Serenity's hand being waved in front of him.   
  
"Darien, are you okay? You look like you were about to faint or something." She said as he smiled and lightly kissed her. Serenity responded quickly by deepening the kiss. After a few minutes, they pulled back. "Okay, I think it's about time I left." He said as he started to get out of bed, but Serenity held onto his waist.   
  
"Don't go yet. Stay a little longer." She said with determination. Darien only looked back sadly at her. "I'm sorry Serenity. If I stay any longer, either the guards or your girls will catch me." He said as he tried again to get out of bed, but Serenity just wouldn't let go. "No, they won't. Stay with me for today." She begged. Darien shook his head. "Serenity, I love you but I also love my freedom. Please let me go now." He said as he pried her arms off of him and began picking up his discarded clothing. Serenity instantly closed her eyes. Sure, she had seen him naked before, but she only saw the top half of him.   
  
She blushed at her thoughts and images that were very quickly filling her mind again. When she decided to open her eyes again, she saw him fully dressed, with the exception of his mask and top hat. He grabbed his hat from off the floor and went to pick up his mask from her nightstand.   
  
When his hand got to his mask, Serenity's hand covered his. He looked up to see her holding the bed sheet around her body. "Please come again tonight, my love." She said as she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly. Darien smiled and hugged her back and pulled back to kiss her passionately. When he pulled away, he smiled once more and took his mask.   
  
"I'll be sure to do that." He said as he leaned in for another quick kiss and tipped his hat to her as he opened her balcony doors and quickly jumped off the balcony and down to the awaiting Diablo in the bushes.   
  
He quickly climbed up and raced Diablo towards the gates, where the guards were waiting for him.   
  
"You heard Diamond, show no mercy towards the bandit, but keep him alive, just long enough for questioning and execution!" The captain said right before he charged his guards towards Tuxedo mask.   
  
Tuxedo mask only smirked as he whispered something to Diablo. The stallion gave the guards a sly look as he galloped towards them. Right when the guards were in front of them, Diablo leaped over all of them and past the captain, knocking him down.   
  
"Questioning and execution my ass!" Tuxedo mask called over his shoulder as Diablo raced into the forest. The guards and the captain heard his mocking laughter in the distance.   
  
Back atop the balcony, Serenity silently thanked God that Darien escaped, again. She smiled as she walked back into the palace, just as happy and just as in love as ever.  
  
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Hey, hope you enjoyed this chapter, but there's more to come. Please remember to review!  
  
~mackenzie 


	12. Found out

Hey everyone! Good news, I have finally gotten some more extra time to write more chapters to my stories! Well, this week anyway, but don't worry. I'm planning on updating all my stories this week. Oh yeah and I'm also already planning to put out 4, that's right, FOUR new stories! So, expect to see one of three new stories coming out this month! I'll give you just a little hint about them, three of them are going to be in the PG-13 section and the other is going in the R section, so things to look forward to! .  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon.  
  
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After Serenity had gotten dressed in her formal breakfast gown, she began to leave her room, but as soon as she opened her door, something caught her eye. She turned to see a regal looking stationary note attached to her door.   
  
'This better not be a letter from that jerk who has the nerve to call himself a prince!' Serenity thought to herself as she grimaced, thinking of all the worse things he could write to her and do to her.   
  
She very slowly peeled the note off her door and unfolded it to reveal the message. She sighed with relief to see that it was done nicely in Amy's handwriting.   
  
Dear Serenity,   
  
Your royal court has asked permission to excuse you from dining with the Earth King Damien, the Earth Prince Diamond, and your mother, her majesty, Queen Serenity the 1st. In replacement, you will be dining with your royal court. Upon request, we ask that you dine with us in the main royal courtyards.   
  
We know you'll accept our invitation, and we look forward to spending the morning and having breakfast with you.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Amy, Raye, Lita, Mina   
  
The royal court of Princess Serenity.  
  
Serenity smiled as she finished the letter. 'Amy was always one to be so formal, even when it comes to simple invitations like these. Oh well, I guess I'm a bit used to it by now. After all, I am a princess.' She thought to herself jokingly as she made her way down the very large hallways of the palace.   
  
'I wonder if Darien and his friend have come to terms yet. Oh, if they haven't I still believe I am the one to blame for their fight.' Serenity thought to herself as she turned a corner and crashed into something, or someone rather.   
  
"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I was deep in thought and I...." She stopped herself to look up at whom she crashed into.   
  
Unfortunately it was a face she would have not liked to see in the morning hours, or even, ever! He gave her an evil kind of smirk as he looked down upon her.   
  
"My, you look....ravishing this morning, Serenity." He said, emphasizing the word, ravishing. Serenity had to use most of her self-control not to shudder in front of Diamond. She curtsied for him, even though she would have rather kicked him in the shin and run, she did as her mother wanted, even if she didn't like to or felt the need to.   
  
"And you look quite....handsome today, Diamond." She said as her heart deep within cried out that Darien was much more handsome than Diamond would ever be. She smiled to herself with that in mind and began walking past him. Diamond glared at her back as she left him at the end of the hallway.   
  
'I shall take you one day Serenity, weather you're willing, or not.' He thought as he disappeared within the shadows of the palace.   
  
As soon as Serenity had reached the gardens, she could see her friends all sitting at the little table they had servants prepare under the navy blue and white gazebo, lined with rose bushes and roses growing up and around the walls and the roof of it.   
  
'They are nice roses and this garden is beautiful, but even these roses cannot compare to the beautiful ones that Darien grew himself.' Serenity thought as she walked towards the table.   
  
When she stopped in front of the table, the girls all stood up and curtsied respectfully towards her as she returned it and took her place in the middle of the table. As soon as the girls were seated, at least fifteen servants came out with platefuls of breakfast for everyone at the table.   
  
"Don't worry Serenity. We made sure to tell the cooks to hold off on the food until you got here so Mina wouldn't chuff it all!" Lita whispered to Serenity while she giggled. Mina glared at Lita and growled.   
  
"You just want me to die of starvation, don't you?" Mina asked with a little threatening tone to her voice. Lita laughed. "Oh, come on now Mina. You haven't missed a meal a day in your life since the day you were born!" Lita said while Mina pouted. Suddenly, Mina quickly turned to Serenity and gave her a puppy dogface, complete with the pleading eyes.   
  
"Serenity, if you're in too much pain to eat, I'll be happy to eat your food for you!" Mina exclaimed as the food was being passed out. Serenity gave Mina a strange look as she gently pushed her back into her chair. Amy and Raye wanted to hear an explanation for this one.   
  
"Why would Serenity be in too much pain to eat, Mina? She looks just fine to me as far as I can tell, and she has no temperature." Amy said as she took her hand away from Serenity's forehead. Raye was now suspicious as well.   
  
"Yeah, as long as I've known her Serenity never gets too sick to eat, even when she has the flu." As soon as Raye pointed that out, Serenity blushed. Mina looked at both Raye and Amy.   
  
"Well Serenity did have se...." Before she could continue her sentence, Lita's hand was clamped over Mina's mouth. Lita gave a nervous laugh as Mina struggled. "Ahaha, crazy little Mina, you never know what she's going to say next!" She said as Mina finally pulled Lita's hand off her mouth.   
  
"But as her court, they have a right to know everything that Serenity does or did, like the fact that she slept with Diamond last night and into this morning!" Everyone gasped, including a few female and male servants around the area. Lita glared daggers at Mina.   
  
"I thought we had agreed to let Serenity tell everyone when she was ready, not let you blab it out to the whole palace, not to mention the damn entire world!" She yelled at Mina. Amy and Raye stared at Serenity, shocked beyond anything.   
  
"You....you....you had sex with the prince?!" Raye nearly shrieked. Serenity instantly stood up from her chair and nearly screamed, but composed herself before she did. "Well, I wouldn't have called it sex exactly...." She said as she blushed. "And it wasn't exactly with the prince either." She calmly stated as she looked towards the ground in embarrassment. Mina looked confused.   
  
"Then who's presence did I feel in that room this morning, besides yours, when I passed it hmmm?" Mina asked while tapping her foot on the ground and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll tell you all if you guys would just sit down, start eating, and stop bombarding me with questions." She said as she took her seat, as did the other four girls.   
  
After they had begun eating, Serenity began telling them of how she met Tuxedo mask and of her late night rendezvous with him, and how she had gone off with him to his hideaway yesterday while they were all off training. After Serenity was through with her tale, everyone had different views of the situation.   
  
"Wow, Serenity. This is just like one of those romance novels I've read about before, only kind of different. That's so romantic." Lita said with a dreamy expression. Raye looked like she was about to cry.   
  
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Serenity. I nearly charbroiled your lover! I hope you can forgive me." Raye cried as she begged for forgiveness from Serenity, for once. She only smiled. "It's okay. I healed him the night of the incident, but you are forgiven." She said as she waited for Amy's intake on the subject. Amy looked deep in thought before she spoke.   
  
"I don't think this is right, Serenity. I mean you literally promised yourself to Diamond when your mother made the treaty with Earth, and that also meant your virginity was supposed to be given to him along with your love. You've just been unfaithful to him, Serenity." Amy said with seriousness, but Serenity could sense the sadness within her and see the pain that she held for her.   
  
"But Amy, I don't love Diamond. I love Darien and I haven't been unfaithful, because I, myself, didn't promise myself to him, my mother did. So therefore, I am free to give myself to any man I chose, and I chose Darien!" Serenity said so determinedly, while tears went down her cheeks.   
  
"I refuse to stay with that horrible man who I know almost nothing about, nor do I wish to know. I will make Darien take me away with him, even if it means giving up my title and my place as queen in the moon kingdom. I would rather kill myself than live the rest of my life with Diamond in that palace. I would be condemning myself to hell if I lived the rest of my life with him." She said as she fell to the ground with these thoughts in mind, and with tears in her eyes.   
  
Only a second after she fell, the girls came around her, held her and comforted her. "Maybe, for once, we should let Serenity follow this path of love. She obviously isn't going to give up Darien until the bitter end. Now that's one of the signs of true love." Mina said as she stood and smiled at Serenity while she walked out of the gazebo. After they made sure Serenity was all right, Raye, Lita, and Amy ran after Mina, leaving Serenity standing in the gazebo.   
  
Later that night, Serenity lay on her bed comfortably on Darien's white dress shirt covered chest, while he gently rubbed her back through the thin fabric of her dress and the opening in the back of her dress.   
  
"Darien...." She trailed off, waiting for him to answer. Darien replied with an "Uh-huh?" He said as he opened his eyes again to look down at her. Serenity moved her head a little so she could look up at him.   
  
"Will you tell me about your life, your childhood. I already told you mine its only fair." She said with a little bit of a whine to her voice. Darien could only smile at that. "Well, I guess I have to. Its only fair." He said as he propped himself against the headboard of the bed a little.   
  
"But I must say I really don't know much about my parents or much about myself when I was a baby. I'm not even sure if my real name is Darien." At this, Serenity sat up a little. "How would you not know if that's your real name or not? Didn't your parents name you?" She asked as he shook his head.   
  
"I don't know. As far as I know I was dropped off in front of a couple's house in a basket when I was just a baby. There was no note or birth certificate or records with me, so the couple claimed that they were my parents and adopted me as an orphan and named me Darien. They did love me and gave me a good home and plenty of attention, but...." He trailed off and looked like he was debating on whether or not to tell her. Serenity sat up even more at this. "But what Darien?" She asked, edging him on. Darien sighed deeply.   
  
"But I just wish I could have met my real parents. I wish I could have known why they gave me away. Could they not take care of me? Were they really that poor? Or was I an accident and just not wanted? You don't know how many ideas I have had about my real parents, Serenity. Of what happened to them, why I was abandoned. I don't have any family whatsoever. I just only wish I could have one to love and be loved by."   
  
By now he was sitting all the way up on the side of her bed with a sort of pained look in his eyes that Serenity could tell he was trying to hide but she saw through the thin shield in front of his eyes. Serenity felt so sorry for him. Serenity had only lost her father, who had left her mother the day she was born, so she never got to meet him.   
  
But growing up and never knowing whom your parents were or what they were like must have been terrible for Darien or anyone for that matter to go through. Serenity sat behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind and hugged him tightly, placing her chin on his shoulder.   
  
"No matter how alone you feel, Darien, I am always here for you, my love. I'll be your family, and no one will take me away from you." After she had said that he turned to say something, but her hand came up and she placed two fingers on his lips. "And no matter what you say, that also includes my so-called fiancé." She said as he smiled. "If you're sure." He said as he turned back around to look out her balcony window to see the sun setting just past the gates of the palace.   
  
A smile suddenly crossed his lips as he gently pounced on Serenity, surprising her a little and making her giggle. She now lay underneath him on the bed. "I seem to recall this same position from last night." He said with a small smirk. Serenity blushed at his words. All sorts of images and memories filled her mind again, making her an even deeper shade of red.   
  
"Darien!" She cried as she began trying to hit him, but he was quicker and grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms down. He smirked down at her as he held her down. "What, Serenity?" He said in an almost cocky tone. She glared up at him playfully.   
  
"Oooh, you're going to get it." She said as she began kicking her legs about, but making sure not to hurt him, although she could have. But he was quick to pin down her legs as well with his. "You were saying?" He said still with the same smirk. Serenity still continued to play fight with him until she began to get tired and began breathing heavily and stopped.   
  
"What? No fight left in you? I guess I'll just have to give you the death penalty....tickling!" He said he began the "Death Sentence", making Serenity laugh and giggle helplessly as she rolled slightly on the bed. "Say you'll give up and I'll stop!" He said as Serenity began to have trouble catching her breath.   
  
"O....okay Darien....I give up....I give up!" She said through breaths and giggles. After that, Serenity still lay beneath Darien. She looked up at him after she caught her breath to see him right in front of her face and smiled.   
  
"I love you, Darien." She said as she began inching up towards his face. He smiled as well as he began to lean down towards her lips. "I love you too, Serenity." He said before their lips touched. After a full two minutes of passionate kisses, they both broke for air.   
  
"Make love to me again, Darien." She said to him after she had caught her breath. The request was tempting, but he knew he had to resist, this time at least. He shook his head, much to her disappointment.   
  
"Not this time, Serenity. Last night wasn't a mistake, but I'm afraid I might have gotten you pregnant. Just in case I did or didn't, I wouldn't want to make you hate me for it even more than you would if you found out you were pregnant with my child." He said as he began to get off the bed and leave the palace, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.   
  
"If I were to find out that I was going to have your child, I wouldn't hate you for it. To tell you the truth, I'd be overjoyed to know that I was having your child, and I'd love you even more." She said as she pulled him down a little more, having her lips close to his ear.   
  
"Nothing in this world could ever make me stop loving you, Darien." She whispered to him as she gently kissed his cheek and let him go. Once he sat up, she came up to sit up on the bed with him. "And no matter how stupid you think it is, no matter what anyone would say or do, I'd give up my place as the moon princess and future queen of the earth and moon to live with you wherever you went and give you the family you deserve." She said as she gently took his hand and placed it on her heart and left her hand on his. "And that's my eternal promise to you." She said as she leaned in the same time as he did and kissed him.   
  
"I'll remember that always, Serenity." He said gently to her as he gave her a short but sweet hug, and a smile before he grabbed his tuxedo jacket, cape, mask and hat and left out his usual exit. Out the double glass door of her balcony and off the balcony to mount Diablo and ride away before the guards could catch him or even notice him.   
  
After her little meeting with Darien, Serenity slowly stuck her head out to see if Diamond was anywhere to be seen.   
  
To her relief, he wasn't. So she stepped out of her room and slowly closed her door and began exploring the palace. Since she was going to live here, she might as well have one good look around before she either married Diamond, or escaped somewhere with Darien.   
  
After she had passed all of the girls' rooms, she came upon two large wooden doors that obviously lead to a bigger room. 'What's the harm in one little peek?' Serenity thought to herself as took one quick look around the darkened halls of her surroundings, making sure no one was looking. Serenity held her breath as she slowly opened the doors to the unknown room. She nearly gasped at what she saw.   
  
It was a huge library, filled with shelves, upon shelves of books. In the middle of the room was a chandelier made of beautiful, sparkling crystals.   
  
By now, Serenity had unknowingly stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She was so amazed with the beautiful, but still spacious library. 'Wow, looks like earth has more history books than I thought possible.' She thought as she walked past oak furniture and some chairs. She stopped when she accidentally bumped into a large oak desk. She knocked a few things down off it.   
  
She gasped and quickly started picking the items up and placing them back on the desk. When she finished, something caught her eye. It was a large and beautiful painting of what seemed to be the king of earth and his deceased wife, and the prince as a baby being held in the queen's arms.   
  
'Must be Diamond.' She thought, but then stopped herself as she got a closer look at the baby. This baby had traces of raven black hair, not snow white like Diamond's. And Diamond's eyes were almost pitch black, not deep blue.   
  
'That baby looks remotely alike to Darien.' Serenity thought as she reached out to touch the painting, but before she could, she heard someone speak out.   
  
"Curious about that baby in the picture?" the voice said as she turned to see King Damien almost right behind her. Serenity slowly nodded.   
  
"That is, or was, my first son, Prince Endymion of earth." He said with a little smile as Serenity stared confusedly at him.   
  
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Now its getting to the good part, but only I know what's going to happen next. So if you really want to know, please leave me a review!  
  
Mackenzie 


	13. Traitors

Hey to all of my readers and fans! This should be my last update before school starts Monday, but even though I'll be back in school and learning to drive, I'll still find time and MAKE time to update my stories. That is always my promise to everyone, no matter how long the waits are, or how late I have to stay up to write. Well, I'll get off of my soapbox now and get on with the story!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own sailor moon. -  
King Damien sighed as he looked up at the picture of his non-existent family now. Serenity gave him a curious look as she saw him staring at the painting.  
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"What do you mean 'was' your son?" She said as he looked down at her and sighed again. "I guess I should tell you of the real future husband you were supposed to have, of the real prince of Earth." He said as he motioned for her to come around the desk and pulled out the chair for her in front of the desk. He waited until she sat down and pushed the chair in slightly. She thanked him and he smiled. Serenity looked at him with sort of questioning look.  
  
'He has the same smile as Darien. Hell, he practically looks like Darien!' She then thought for a moment. 'Only a little older.' Serenity thought as she watched him sit down across from her. He folded his hands together as he placed them on the desk.  
  
"Do you ever wonder why Diamond doesn't resemble me in the least, or why no one on this planet other than him has snow white hair other than our elderly?" He asked as Serenity nodded. He leaned back a little in his chair a bit.  
  
"It's because Diamond isn't my son, nor is he family or relative family. He came from his planet the day his planet and his family learned that my son had been taken and perhaps, killed." He finished that sentence with a sad, distant look in his eyes. Serenity had a confused look on her face.  
  
"Perhaps killed? How could you say perhaps? Don't you know for certain?" She asked as he shook his dark head. "No, my guards and whoever else wanted to help find him never found the body, so I assumed the kidnappers killed him and hid the evidence extremely well." He said as he waited for more questions from Serenity. She looked up once more at the painting and noticed the dark haired woman with tints of blue in her hair next to the king.  
  
'That must have been his wife. I wonder what happened to....' Serenity's thoughts were cut off by king Damien. "You know, Endymion would have been twenty one if he lived to this very day. He was only a month old when he was taken...." He trailed off as Serenity interrupted him.  
  
"Whatever happened to your wife?" She asked as he stole a quick glance at the image of his late wife. "She died not too soon after Endymion was taken. She was out in civilian clothes, looking for our son, just as I was. We had split up to cover ground faster. Somehow the kidnappers had recognized her and killed her. I nearly committed suicide that night after I had lost my wife. But the servants and some of my friends had stopped me from doing so. They reminded me that the new prince had not yet come of age and I had to help guide him to become the great leader I once was." He said as he fought back tears as Serenity gave him a sorrowful look.  
  
"Why couldn't you have taken any other princes from any other galaxy? Why couldn't you have just asked my mother to claim me as the new earth ruler since you already knew that I was going to become both the moon and earth queen?" She asked as he shook his head.  
  
"You were only three then, Serenity. Do you really think the other princes of the other planets really wanted to leave their planets with no ruler just to rule some other planet?" He asked as she shook her head. "Well, if that's the case, why did Diamond leave his planet to rule here?" She asked as he looked out the nearby window. "He didn't live on an actual planet really. It was more like a star. I think your mother knows of the dark star near your planet." He said as Serenity gasped.  
  
"But...but the people of that star are evil! They tried to take the moon kingdom once and turn it into the dark moon kingdom. Why in the he...world would you take their prince in replacement for earth's?" She asked as she now stood up, leaning over the desk. He ran his hand through his dark hair.  
  
"I had no other choice, Serenity. We had no other heirs, and I refused to marry another just to make another heir." He said as silent tears he couldn't control slipped out.  
  
"I wanted my wife, my only love, the only woman I vowed I would ever make love to. I also wanted my son, my first son, my only son. He represented mine and my wife's love for each other." He said as he quickly wiped a tear away and then looked down at the smeared tear on his hand.  
  
"Strange..." He started as he kept his gaze on it. "I haven't shed tears since the day I found out that my wife had been murdered and possibly my son." After he had finished, Serenity looked at the picture of the baby again. She took a long hard look at it before she began to piece her thoughts together.  
  
'King Damien said that they never found the baby's body and that he could have possibly been dead. That is a likely possibility, but there is also the possibility that Endymion could still be alive somewhere on earth....' Her thoughts trailed off at that.  
  
'Wait a second. That baby looks like Darien, but Darien said he never knew who his parents were because he was found on a couple's doorstep when he was a baby. Could it be possible that Darien really is Endymion?' She thought about a little more before she spoke again.  
  
'He does look like he is just barely twenty-one. Maybe if I can somehow get him to do a DNA test with the king, then maybe I can help him find his son and then I wouldn't have to marry Diamond, I'd have to marry Darien...er..Endymion. I just hope Darien really is Endymion.' Serenity looked up to see the king staring at her. "Your highness, would you happen to know anything about Tuxedo Mask?" She asked as he looked at her with a sudden interest. "No, not really. He's just a very skilled swordsman and bandit that showed up a few years ago. Why? Do you have some girlish fantasies about him like most of the other women on earth do?" He said with a chuckle. Serenity blushed and sank down in the seat a little. "I....I don't have to fantasize about him really...." She said as she blushed some more. Now the king was really interested. "And, why do you not have to fantasize about him? Is it because you, heaven forbid, love Diamond and you're saving yourself for him?" He asked as Serenity sank down into her seat more, although she knew it wasn't very lady like. But still, the king was starting to embarrass her. "My mother had told me to stay a virgin until I knew I loved the earth prince and wanted to give myself to him or until it came the time for me to start bearing heirs. But, I'm happy to announce that I'm no longer a virgin. I never really intended to save myself for Diamond." She said as a faint blush still lingered on her cheeks. The king's eyes widened. "So you made love to another man on the moon before you came?" He asked as she laughed. "No, of course not. Most of the men on my planet are commoners and my mother would have never allowed that. She wanted someone of noble birth to bed me. But when I met Darien....well, he changed that." She said as she began to sit up more in the chair. He smiled a little. "And who, may I ask, is this Darien? Is he one of our palace guards you just happened to fall in love with? Or was he that masked man at the ball you danced with?" He asked as she smiled. "He was the one I danced with and no, he is not of the palace." She said as he leaned forward a bit in his seat. "Is he just a commoner that your mother or I didn't even know about that you snuck in?" He asked as Serenity sighed. "Please, your majesty, you jump to conclusions way too quickly." She sighed as she got up the courage to tell him. "If I tell you who he is, will you promise not to tell your guards to go and arrest him?" She asked as he nodded. "You have my word, Serenity." She sighed as she heard his promise. "He is the bandit and excellent swordsman you spoke of, Tuxedo mask. He met me one day in the royal gardens, and from then on we somehow formed a friendship. Upon my request, he would come every night to my balcony and talk with me and make me feel so happy. I had even invited him to the royal engagement ball and of course, as you know, he came." She stopped for a moment and sighed. "Later, without even knowing it until recently, we had fallen in love with each other. From then on, I knew nothing was going to stop me from being with him. And that's my story, sir." She said as she sighed once again with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I love him, and no one is going to stop me from being in love with him. Not even Diamond, my mother, or death." She said as the king nodded. "Well, I'm glad you found true love in the masked bandit, but what has this got to do with my missing son?" He asked as she looked up at the picture once more. "I believe your son's picture is on all of the wanted posters for Tuxedo mask." She stated as he gave her a funny look. "Nonsense Serenity. My son died years ago. What lead you to believe that the most wanted bandit on earth is my son?" He asked as Serenity told all of what Darien told him about his childhood. "It is a possibility, but do you have any proof?" He asked after she finished. She saw the hope shining in his eyes. "Well, if you let him, I'll get him to come through my room tomorrow night and we can get Amy, from my court, to do a DNA test, and then we'll see." She said as she heard an audible sigh from him.  
  
"Alright, but make sure when he comes through the hallways that he doesn't steal anything." He said with slight humor in his voice. Serenity laughed. "He won't. I promise." She said as she quickly walked around the desk and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"Thank you." She said with glee as she quickly walked out of the library, happier than she had ever been. Diamond watched Serenity walk happily back to her room as he sat in the shadows.  
  
"So, that's what happened to Endymion. I guess my lackeys didn't take as good care of him as I had instructed them to do so. Oh well, he'll be coming tonight as my enemy as well. I will have him arrested and I shall deal with him myself. I shall be his executioner this time. So, I kill two princes with one stone, the prince of Earth and the prince of bandits all in one package. Perfect." He said to the darkness with an evil smirk.  
  
He stepped out of the shadows, just as Serenity closed her door. "I may have not been able to take your body as my own the first time, Serenity, but I will take it the second time." He said as he smirked and went to go tell his army of what his plans were for the coming night.  
  
The next day, Serenity woke up bright and early. She couldn't wait to tell Darien the news, so she decided to sneak out of the palace and into the town without her mother or the scouts knowing it.  
  
'If Darien can sneak in and out, than so can I.' She thought as she pulled out a black cloak from her wardrobe. It had none of the moon's emblems whatsoever, so she would be safe sneaking around the town as herself. She wrapped it around her and quickly covered her face. She looked around the hallways as she poked her head out. Luckily, there was no one to be found.  
  
She stepped out and closed her door quietly as she made a mad dash for the staircase. She made it down the stairs quickly and safely. Her exit was plain in sight as she looked towards the main doors.  
  
'Perfect escape plan.' She thought as she ran for the door and quickly opened it, slipped out of the doorway and closed it quickly and made it outside. 'Like I said, perfect escape plan.' She thought to herself as she headed for the front gates. She stopped abruptly as she noticed the gate was open but there were two guards just on the outside.  
  
'Great, now how am I supposed to get past those guards?' She thought to herself frantically as tried to think of what to do. 'Darien always runs right past them and gets away with it, so I think I should be able to do that.' She thought as she began sprinting towards the gates.  
  
The guards heard someone running towards the gates but by the time they turned to look, they saw a black blur run into the forest and down the road towards the town. "Do you think we should go after....whatever that thing was?" One guard asked as the other shook his head.  
  
"We're paid to keep people out, and not in, so don't worry about it." He said as the other just nodded and continued to watch the gates.  
  
Meanwhile, Serenity stood just outside of the town. 'I made it, I can't believe I made it!' Serenity thought to herself happily as she walked into the town. She remembered the way Mina had taken when they went to buy bread the other day. Within a few moments, Serenity found the bakery.  
  
She saw Andrew sitting there, but no Darien. 'He must be in the back somewhere.' She thought as she walked up to the bakery. Andrew looked up at the hooded figure and smiled. "Hello, and welcome to my bakery. What would you prefer..." He trailed off as Serenity uncovered her face.  
  
"Hello, Andrew. Is Darien around here today?" She asked as he numbly nodded. "But what are you doing here princess?" He asked as she placed a finger to her lips and shushed him.  
  
"Don't call me that. No one at the palace knows I'm gone. If someone were to find out I was here, they could either kidnap me for ransom or take me back to the palace against my will!" She whispered to him. He only nodded as he opened the small door and let her in.  
  
"He's in the back." He said simply as she smiled and thanked him. She walked back into the room to see Darien checking stock and moving some boxes of bread around. She smiled as she walked up to him. "Good afternoon, Darien." She said as he stopped working and turned around to face her. He gasped a little and then pulled her further into the back room by her shoulders.  
  
After she knew it was safe to do so, Serenity slipped the black cloak off to reveal her lunarian white dress she wore almost everyday. She smiled as she launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.  
  
"Oh Darien, have I got great news for you!" She squealed as he gave her a funny look. "That's nice Serenity, but I have to get back to work now, and you need to get back to the palace." He said as she smiled a little. "Is work more important that finding out who your parents are?" She asked as he turned to her with a questionable look on his face. "Serenity, I already told you that they abandoned me, so obviously they didn't want me." He said as he began to pick up another box, but she stopped him.  
  
"What if I told you I think I know who your father is." She asked as he laughed. "Sure. Ok Serenity, who is it then? The king of Earth?" He asked sarcastically. She smiled at the irony of it.  
  
"As a matter of fact it could most likely be." She said as he gave another questioning look. "How do I find out for myself?" He asked as she smiled and told him of the painting and of what the king had told her. She also told him of her plan for tonight. He leaned against the wall next to her.  
  
"I don't know Serenity. What if I'm not this Endymion you speak of and the king has me arrested on the spot?" He asked as she smiled. "I already made him promise me he would not. He's trustworthy, Darien. Don't worry, all my friend is going to do is do a DNA test to confirm it and after it's over, you can leave if you want." She said as he thought about it for a moment. He looked at her and saw those same pleading eyes he saw the night she asked him to make love to her. He sighed and then smiled.  
  
"Alright Serenity, I'll go." He said as she smiled and hugged him once more. He hugged her back this time and smiled as well.  
  
Later that night, Darien was dressed as Tuxedo mask with Serenity in her black cloak. He was riding Diablo at top speed to the palace. Serenity had her arms wrapped tightly around him as she hung on tightly. When they arrived, Darien was surprised to see there were no guards at the gates.  
  
'That's strange. There's always at least one or two guards to every gate.' He thought as he slowed Diablo down to a trot. 'I don't have a good feeling about this for some reason. I just have this gut feeling something bad is going to happen.' He thought to himself as he stopped below Serenity's balcony. Since Darien had done it before, it was easier this time to get Serenity and himself up to the balcony safely.  
  
They both walked into the darkened room just before sunset. Darien still had the strange feeling that he was about to be in some serious trouble. He looked around her room quickly. 'Nothing suspicious so far.' He thought to himself confidently. Suddenly the door swung open and in the doorway stood Diamond. He smirked as he turned on the lights to reveal his guards waiting in the shadows. Tuxedo mask instantly drew his sword as he put Serenity behind him.  
  
"What is this?" He asked angrily as he looked over his shoulder at Serenity. She shook her head. "What is the meaning of barging into my room, Diamond?" She asked, as his smirk got bigger. "The meaning of it, my dear Serenity, is to save you from the masked bandit, Tuxedo mask." He said as she shook her head. "I don't need saving, Diamond. The only thing I really needed to be saved from was you." She said defiantly as Diamond turned to his guards.  
  
"What did I tell you? He's brainwashed my innocent fiancé." He said as they all stood with their swords in hand, believing every word Diamond said. "Take this masked bandit away." Diamond commanded with the same evil smirk. Darien quickly turned to escape out the balcony doors, but found a surprise as he stopped. Standing there were guards with their swords drawn.  
  
"You might as well give up now, tuxedo mask. Or should I say....Darien?" Tuxedo mask glared at the man. 'He must have overheard the king and Serenity talking about this plan. I'm trapped and this time I have no way out.' He thought as he sighed. "Alright, I surrender." He said dejectedly. Diamond smirked.  
  
"Very good then. Now, be so kind as to drop your weapon and my general here will put you in some nice handcuffs." He said as Darien bowed his head and dropped his sword and stepped away from Serenity and past the many guards in the room.  
  
The sandy blond headed general took Darien's wrists and quickly handcuffed him from behind. Diamond stepped in front of tuxedo mask and kept his cocky smirk as he quickly ripped off Darien's mask.  
  
"So this is the great tuxedo mask, eh? Well you won't be much after I am through with you." He said as the guards pushed Darien out of the room and off to the prison cells below the palace.  
  
"Oh and while you're at it, gentlemen, take these traitors away as well." He said as he shoved a pile of people in front of Serenity. They landed at her feet. Serenity gasped as she realized who they were.  
  
"Why did you tie up my court?" She asked as she bent down to untie them, but a guard stopped her. She noticed they had been beaten pretty badly and they were all unconscious. Diamond bent down to her level.  
  
"They were in leagues with Tuxedo mask. At least, that's what I told them." He said as he laughed an evil laugh and walked out of the room with the remaining guards. Serenity watched as the other guards took her friends away and closed the door behind them. As soon as the door closed, Serenity collapsed on the floor, and cried. -  
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Was that a good and long chapter or what? Please leave me lots of reviews! I'm off to the torture of school!  
Mackenzie


	14. Powers Revealed

Hey everyone! Look who's baaaaack. Me that's who! Sorry I haven't been around much. School took over my freekin' life man. Sucked. But yeah, on vacation, it's great, wonderful….WA FREEKIN' HOO! Yeah uhm….so sorry for being gone so long again. Who knew that a few small events could have such an impact on your inspiration? (Two guys I dated this year. One of which is trying to get back with me in stupid ways through my best friend, and the other, who cheated on me and is a complete asshole but we won't go into that.) Well, I've been depressed for a few months and yeah, it's taken me a while to get over it, but I assure to all my fans and readers that I have still not given up and I shall not rest until I have finished my stories, nor shall I quit until I get all these stories filling my head, out! So anyway, cross your fingers and hope I'm not too rusty!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sailor Moon.

The dungeon was dark and there was barely any light illuminating the dank dungeon. Darien struggled against the wall with his chains rattling with each tug. He was only wearing his white dress shirt and black pants. The guards had taken everything from him, even his mask. He sighed. There was no way he was going to get himself out of this one.

'And I thought you were the great Tuxedo Mask. Able to escape from any situation, able to fight anyone who stood in his way, able to….keep Serenity safe.' He thought sadly. He frowned at his next thought. 'She's in the clutches of Diamond now, and I won't be there to save her.' He thought as he heard a squeaking of a door and then it's shutting. He then heard footsteps coming towards him. He didn't even bother to look up. He saw a pair of legs dressed in white pants standing before him.

Diamond smirked as he grabbed Darien by the top of his hair and made him look up at him. Darien growled and glared at him. Diamond's smirk grew bigger. "So, this is the famous Tuxedo Mask everyone has been talking about." He said with malice. His smirk then faded into a hateful look. "And the man that Serenity so deeply loves. The man that wasn't supposed to take her virginity." He said as he tightened his grip on Darien's hair. Darien couldn't help but give a cocky smirk.

"And you were supposed to be that man?" He asked with a smug smirk. Diamond growled and pulled Darien's head back farther. Darien hissed in pain. "Yes I was! But you had to go and touch my property! Just like everything else you've stolen from my kingdom." Diamond said with no feeling but hate in his voice. Darien, although in pain, glared up at Diamond fiercely.

"Serenity isn't a thing. She's a living breathing human and the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. You shall never win her heart, and she'll never let you lay even one finger on her. And neither will I so long as I shall live!" Darien spoke boldly. Diamond let go of him and then unexpectedly slapped him across the face. Darien's head snapped to the side. He then looked back at Diamond again with a red spot on his cheek. Diamond had a ravenous hatred look in his eyes. His face was tense, but then, he suddenly smiled evilly at Darien.

"You won't be living for much longer, I can assure you that much. Today, I have arranged several different death sentences for you." He said with a smirk. "I'll even let you pick the one which you think you would be best suited for." Darien rolled his eyes, not really caring at the moment. "Oh joy, what could my choices possibly be?" He asked cockily. Diamond raised his hand to slap him again, but decided against it. "Your choices are, hanging until dead, the guillotine, being shot by my men, or death by me." He said with the same evil smirk.

"Those are your choices. Now which one?" He asked as Darien smirked once more. "Go to hell where you belong." He said with defiance. Diamond's anger finally seeped through. "You ungrateful bastard! I gave you honorable choices of your way to die and you refuse to take my hospitality!" He yelled angrily as he suddenly punched Darien in the stomach. Darien doubled over in pain. The chains holding up his arms from behind. Diamond turned towards the stone stairs with a smirk.

"Remember, you chose your way to die." He said with finality as he climbed up the steps and out of the dungeons. Darien heard the clicking of the lock of his chamber. After that last blow from Diamond, it took him a while to catch his breath.

'Serenity was right. He is more evil than I originally thought.' He thought as he felt a little more pain from the last blow. He grit his teeth and glared at the wall in front of him. 'I must get out of here and save Serenity, but how?' He asked himself thoughtfully as he sighed again. "There's no hope." He thought as he hung his head. He was a dead man for sure.

White light streamed into the room into the dark cellar, but Darien hadn't noticed it. It was coming from the light of the moon though the barred window. It moved towards Darien quickly, but ever so slowly. The minute the light caught Darien, a strange white symbol appeared on Darien's forehead for a brief moment and then faded along with the chains that held Darien back. Darien fell to the floor on his front with a thud. He sat up and dusted himself off a bit.

"What the….?" He asked as he looked towards the wall he was previously restrained on.

"Darien, Hey Darien!" He heard a voice whisper to him. He looked up and saw Andrew through the barred window. He got up and quickly walked over to it. He put his hands on the bars and looked at his ex-best friend questionably but assured somehow. "What are you doing here? The guards could see you and lock you up forever here with me!" He whispered to Andrew. Strangely enough, Andrew smiled. "Hey, there's no one else in this world I would rather be locked up with than my best friend." Darien gave him a funny look.

"Okay, what's with the sudden change in not hating me now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Andrew smirked. "You know me better than that Darien. I can only stay mad at you for a total of three days at most. Now get ready, because I'm going to get you out of there." He said triumphantly. Darien sighed. "And how do you presume we do that? The only way to the dungeons is through the palace and last I checked, they don't give tours." Andrew laughed.

"Then I'll have the guards escort me there, personally." He said with a smirk. Darien gave him a funny look. Not too long after Andrew had spoken of the guards, he turned just in time to see a pair of guards come around the corner. "Hey you, what are you doing there?" One asked as Andrew stepped away from Darien's window, preparing to make a run for it. "He was talking to the bandit! Must be one of his lackeys, get him!" The other guard yelled as they took started running after Andrew.

"I'll spring you momentarily!" He called over his shoulder as the guards were gaining up on him. Darien gave another sigh as he watched the guards chase his friend. "We're always getting in trouble with the law somehow." He said to himself as he sat back down at his original spot. 'If Andrew can pull off what I think he's trying to pull off, I may be able to save Serenity yet.' He thought as he looked to the moon outside his barred window. 'Don't worry Serenity, my love, I shall and will save you, whatever it takes.' He thought with determination.

Not even after a few moments the guards gave chase to Andrew, Darien heard struggling and shuffling of feet towards his cell. He quickly got up and walked up the stairs quickly but quietly as the guards got the keys out for his cell. 'This is it. Andrew did it!' He thought anxiously as he waited for the door to come open. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, heard it in his ears, but he didn't pay attention to either of them as the door slowly creaked open.

They entered with Andrew, cuffed. The guards hadn't noticed Darien standing there, waiting for them. He moved quickly behind one, pushing him off the top of the stairs, instantly knocking him out when he hit the floor below. The other guard had let Andrew go and drew his sword quickly and pointed it at Darien's chest. Darien stopped all movement. He was cornered with a sharp blade pointed right at him.

"Not so tough and slick now, are you Tuxedo Mask?" He asked with a smirk and Darien nodded. "I suppose not." He said as he raised his hands in defeat. The guard looked at Darien triumphantly with his sword, that is, until Andrew raised his fists together, bringing them down upon the guard's neck and making him fall to the ground with his fallen friend. Andrew gave Darien a small smirk.

"Maybe after you retire I should take up your job." He said while he raised the guards keys in his cuffed hands with a smug look. Darien smirked and took the keys from his hands and proceeded to un-cuff him. "Don't quit your day job Andy." With that remark, the clank of cuffs on the floor was heard as Darien freed him. They both walked out of the cell, but not before Andrew closed the door behind them and locking it.

Darien and Andrew ran through the dungeon as they headed for the exit. They had finally reached the final door when several voices stopped them from reaching their goal.

Andrew and Darien stopped in front of a cell which held four girls in scout uniforms, tied up together in the middle of the floor. Darien recognized them as Serenity's court.

"Please help us out!" Sailor Venus cried as she struggled with the rest of the girls to get free. "Serenity was right. Diamond is far beyond evil. He has powers that none of us, nor the king knew about." Sailor Mercury stated. Sailor Jupiter growled as she tried to get free. "He used his powers on us, shot us up pretty good, and then lied to the palace guards, saying we were traitors and attacked him when he really attacked us and had his guards finish his dirty work!" She said as Mars finally spoke up. "Please, we know you care about Serenity a lot and we want to help you and kick Diamond's ass in the process, so are you going to help us out or not?" She asked rather rudely.

Darien took out the keys he had kept from the guard and tried everyone of them in the cell's lock. Finally one of them did work and he opened the cell and went in to quickly untie the girls. After untying them and a few quick praises, they all made a run for the door. But, as soon as they made their way out of the dungeon, about twenty to thirty guards were already at the door. Andrew spoke under his breath to Darien.

"Great, a welcoming committee." Andrew said as Darien looked around for anything they could defend themselves with, or a means of escape. "We'll distract them while you two escape. Tuxedo Mask, you can go find and save Serenity, and your cute friend there can go and find the King. Diamond has him hiden here, somewhere." Sailor Venus whispered to them as she turned her attentions back on the guards. "Alright girls, let's show these guards what us 'Traitors' can do!" She said as the guards rushed them and Andrew and Darien made their escape.

As Andrew and Darien ran through the castle Andrew laughed. Darien looked back funnily at him. "And what the hell, might I ask, are you laughing for!" Darien asked with a serious look on his face. He noticed that Andrew was blushing.

"That one girl from Serenity's court called me cute." He said as Darien rolled his eyes. "Start checking the rooms for the King. He's bound to be here, somewhere." He said as Andrew ran into a random room and Darien ran though the castle to find Serenity. He caught a whiff of her scent as he passed a corridor. He stopped and looked down the dark hallway. 'I'm coming for you Serenity, just hold on!' He thought as he ran towards her scent.

"Diamond! Get off of me this instant!" Serenity screamed desperately as she tried pushing Diamond off of her body. He had her pinned to her bed with him on top of her. "Don't worry my sweet, sweet Serenity. It'll all be over soon." He said as he began trying to take off her dress from her shoulders. Serenity gasped.

"No!" She screamed as she slapped him from impulse of fear. She looked up and gasped again to see she had left a red mark on his face. 'Serves him right!' She thought proudly through her fears. He turned his face back to face her with a maddening look upon his face. He looked beyond furious with her. He slapped her across the face which sent tears of pain instantly springing to her eyes and a red mark to the side of her face to match his.

"You little bitch! How dare you slap your husband and your supreme ruler!" He said, slapping her again. Serenity's tears finally slipped out from her closed eyes. She dared to look up at him. She saw that ugly smirk on his face. "Awww, did I hurt you Serenity? Well it's nothing compared to what you're about to feel in a few moments." Diamond said with a smirk and a little laugh. Serenity's eyes grew wide with fear as tears flowed.

"And tonight, you'll see the demise of your lover, Serenity. What do you think about that?" He said as he leaned forward towards her. Suddenly, Serenity saw a fist come into contact with the side of Diamond's face. With that blow, he fell off Serenity and onto the floor.

"I don't think she'll be seeing my demise anytime soon." Darien said with a bit of a smirk. Serenity's face lit up with delight as she took in the sight of Darien standing there. "Darien! You're okay!" She said excitedly as she jumped off the bed and into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I was so worried that Diamond had you killed!" She said as she began crying again. Darien gave a heartfelt smile and took hold of her face gently and smiled.

"As long as you love me with all of your heart, I'll never die." He said as she looked up at him and smiled. He wiped her tears away with the back of his hand. He then noticed the red marks on her face and looked at them with a glare. He knew Diamond did this. 'If I had gotten here sooner…' He thought as turned his attentions back to her.

"I'm sorry." She said almost in a whisper. "It's not your fault Serenity. It's mine. If I had gotten here sooner, this wouldn't have…." His words were cut off by a yell from Diamond. They both turned to see Diamond floating in midair with an angry look on his face that could scare even the Devil himself. "I wasn't planning on using my powers to kill you Darien. But now it seems you have provoked me to do so!" He yelled angrily as a black ball of power appeared in his hand. Darien's eyes went wide as he quickly picked up Serenity in his arms and made a mad dash for the door.

With an angry growl, Diamond sent the ball hurling at Darien and Serenity. Luckily, Darien had managed to make it out the door, but only to be tripped by the rug on the way out. Darien lay on his stomach in the hallway with Serenity still in his arms.

He looked up just before the black ball of energy flew over his head and into the wall, sending debris from the wall flying all around them. "How in the hell did he get powers!" Darien asked as and angry Diamond floated out of the room and into the hallway.

I know I know. It's mean I left you all in another cliffhanger upon my return. But don't fret! I'll be back with another chapter to another story hopefully sometime this week. So leave me lots of love and reviews!

Mackenzie


	15. Battle For Serenity

Over two years and I haven't updated this thing. I guess a lot of you guys are seriously pissed off at me huh? Well, anyway, here's the chapter, hope I'm not too rusty, and leave me lots of (hopefully) good reviews!

As Diamond floated out of the room and into the hallway, Darien wasted no time in getting up with Serenity in his arms and took off down the hallway, running as fast as he could. Diamond floated after them, a cynical smirk on his face. Darien ran for a while until he found a open room and ducked inside with Serenity. He very gently closed and locked the door.

"Mind telling me where he got those powers?" He asked Serenity as he put her down. Serenity looked at him, just as amazed as he was. "I have no idea, but there's no doubt in my mind that it was some sort of dark power. One I've never felt like that before." Serenity suddenly gasped, remembering the conversation that she had with the King not too long ago. He said that Diamond was from the dark star near her planet. She knew he would be more than a challenge for the people of Earth, since they were generally weaker than the people of the Moon.

Darien looked at Serenity with concern as an apparent thought occurred to her. "We can't stop him..." She trailed off as a look of despair appeared upon her features. Darien stared at her, not knowing what to say or what to do. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against him. "No matter how powerful he is, we will find a way to defeat him, no matter what." He said, looking down at her with a reassuring smile. She smiled back and leaned in closer to his face.

Before they could do what they both intended to do, the doors imploded on themselves and through the smoke, Serenity and Darien saw the shadow of Diamond. As soon as he passed the smoke, they saw him fully, still floating in the air above them. He still had the wicked smirk upon his face, Serenity shivered at this.

"I will not stop searching for you, nor will I stop this rampage until I have my Serenity back..." He said as he charged another ball of energy in his hand. He continued his little speech. "Nor will I stop until you are dead, Darien." He said as he floated closer to them. Darien put Serenity behind him, as if to protect her from what was about to come. "Not unless I kill you first." Darien said with defiance. Diamond laughed loudly at this.

"And what can a mere human like you do to a powerful one such as myself? Oh, right, you still have those disillusioned thoughts that you are Tuxedo Mask, the greatest bandit, the greatest swordsman, the greatest man who ever lived." His smirk grew. "Well those thoughts are all made up of bullshit." He said with malice.

Darien glared at him. "Just because you say I'm not something, doesn't mean I'm not." He said as he quickly formulated a plan to get out of the room with Serenity unharmed. Diamond laughed at his remark.

"Really now? Well come on then, show me how great you truly are." He said as he raised the energy ball over his head, ready to aim at Darien. At this action, Darien took this chance to run at Diamond and tackle him to the floor. At this, Diamond lost his grip on the energy ball, making it fly up towards the ceiling, tearing a new skylight into the room, debris fell to the floor.

Darien held Diamond at bay on the floor as Diamond struggled. Serenity stood there, watching the whole thing. "Don't just stand there, Serenity. Run! Go! Hide!" Darien yelled as Serenity looked at her lover in questioning, but decided to follow his orders and ran out of the room. Diamond saw the flowing white dress of Serenity wisp past him and grew angry. She was escaping his clutches again, but not for long.

Diamond gave Darien and insane look as he now attempted to get Darien off of him. A strange dark purple glow surrounded him as Darien held him down. Darien gave him a strange look.

Before he knew what was happening, Darien was being lifted into the air above Diamond. Darien struggled as Diamond stood up. He walked out of the room with Darien floating out of the room behind him, still covered in the purple barrier. Darien continued struggling, trying to break free of this strange and evil power. Diamond turned around and looked at Darien and gave him an evil smile.

"It's been truly a pleasure knowing you, Darien. It's a shame to see you die at such a young age." He said as he grinned even more evilly, if that were possible. Darien felt himself slowly start to move. A second later, he was being flung towards a window.

Darien braced for the impact as he flew towards the glass window. He heard it break and shatter as he was being thrown though it. The next thing he knew, he was falling. The next few seconds he knew nothing else but darkness.

Diamond smirked as he looked down from the window to see Darien laying at a corner of the gardens, unconscious and not moving. He smirked as he left the window to go find Serenity.

Meanwhile, Serenity ran through the palace. She finally got to the lower levels of the palace. She stopped for a second to catch her breath. As she stood there, she felt a sudden pang at her heart. She gasped. 'Darien...' Her thoughts suddenly were overtaken by that one thought. Sadness suddenly filled her.

'Oh dear lord, please don't tell me Diamond killed Darien.' She wanted to run back to see if he was okay, but knew she shouldn't because she knew Diamond was still about.

"Serenity!" She suddenly heard a familiar voice call her, followed by the running of five different pairs of feet. She turned around to see her court and Andrew running towards her. She suddenly felt a slight wave of safeness wash over her.

"You guys! Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you guys are okay!" She said as she ran to hug each and everyone of them, even Andrew. "Did you guys know about Diamond having powers?" Serenity asked as her court nodded. "Well duh! We all got our assess handed to us by Diamond himself so I think we would know!" Mars said half-jokingly and half-serious. Serenity smiled at Mars and the rest of the group and went back to being serious.

"Guys, you remember the war we had to fight against the dark star near out planet that tried to take over the moon kingdom?" Serenity asked as everyone nodded. "Well, apparently Diamond is the prince of that star and he's way worse than twenty thousand of his men combined! I don't think we can defeat him with just you guys. We're going to need reinforcements from the moon and..." Mars suddenly cut her off.

"Serenity, aren't you forgetting something? You're your own army in yourself! You're one of the sailor soldiers too, remember? Sailor Moon?" She said triumphantly. Mercury spoke up. "True she is the most powerful one of the court but she can't do it with just herself alone. The silver crystal with just her power alone might be too great for Serenity. You know how it drains her energy. She needs our help too." The girls all nodded in agreement. Jupiter finally spoke up. "Serenity, do you even have the crystal with you?" Serenity thought for a moment.

"Yes, but my mother has it for safekeeping. It's back upstairs in her room." After she said that, Mars headed for the stairs. "Well, let's go then." Before Mars could even take one step up the stairs, Serenity grabbed Mar's arm and stopped her. "You do realize that Diamond is still up there? Looking for me? He'll stop at nothing to get to me. He'd even kill you guys if he got the chance." Mars stopped and looked a little annoyed but then a look of concern washed over her facial features.

"Serenity, where's your mother?" Serenity thought for a second and then gasped. "I don't know! Was she arrested with the rest of you?" She asked, almost in a panic. Mars shook her head. "There was no one else down there with us." At this, Serenity didn't even say a word and started running up the stairs. "Serenity!" Mars called as the rest of the scouts ran up the stairs after her. Serenity didn't even stop to see if they were following her. She ran down the corridors and through the hallways. She finally reached the bedroom doors of her mother. The scouts trailed not too far behind.

Serenity flung the doors open and went inside the room. The scouts had made it to the door when it slammed closed on it's own in front of them. Venus stopped at the closed doors. She jerked on the knob of the doors, neither would open.

"Damn it." She said as she let the doors go. "They're locked and Serenity's alone in there." Mercury stared hard at the doors and then gasped. "You don't think...Diamond's in there, do you?" At this, the girls started pounding on the door and yelling through it, trying every possible way to get Serenity out, but to no avail.

Inside, Serenity looked around the room. It was very dimly lit in the room, so she could barely see anything. She walked around until she tripped on something. She landed on the floor, in front of the thing she tripped on. 'Probably one of the rugs.' She thought as she looked back to see what her foot was laying on. She was shocked to see the carpet had curves and the same coloring of her moon dress. She then moved closer to the object and gasped.

It was her mother, Queen Serenity! Serenity moved quickly to her mother's side. "Mother, mother, wake up! Mother!" Serenity said as she shook her mother rather hard. Her mother's body was completely limp and cold. Tears sprang to Serenity's eyes. "Mother...why?" She said almost breathlessly as she hugged the dead body of her mother. The tears now streamed down Serenity's face. She felt another presence in the room, a dark one. She knew good and well who it was.

"Why did you kill her? Why? She did nothing to you. She even agreed to have me marry you against my will. What did she do to you?" Serenity asked in a calm voice but with a hint of anger within. Diamond smirked. "Well, Serenity, she didn't uphold the other end of the bargain, the bargain she failed to tell you about." Serenity sat up at this and turned to look at him. He was standing above her on the ground, looking down at her. He smirked.

"When the king initially asked for your hand in marriage to me, at first you mother refused profusely, that is until I gave her a choice." Diamond said, widening that evil smirk. Serenity glared at him. "What choice was that, you snake?" She asked. He continued. "I told her that since I had both my dark army AND the Earth's army at my disposal, she would be outnumbered and she would have to surrender you anyway at the expense of her people though." He paused again, noticing her glaring at him.

"But I told her if she were to give you to me willingly, I would spare her planet and spare her life. But I guess she didn't take into account that she had to also make you be willing in order for the arrangement to work." He smirked a little more.

"I only did what was necessary, Serenity. Your mother is dead and so is your precious Darien." Serenity gasped at this. She felt her heart shattering and falling to the floor. "Darien...is dead?" She asked herself as Diamond laughed. "Yes, he's dead. I took care of him myself. So I guess you have no choice but to marry me now, Serenity. You have no other choice, unless you want to see your people suffer." Diamond laughed again. Serenity glared at him and stood up.

"I do so have a choice and it lies within..." She trailed off as Diamond pulled out something from underneath his cape. It was bright and shined like the moon at night. The Silver crystal! "Lies within this you mean?" He asked mockingly, holding it out in front of her. Serenity stood there, shocked as anything. "Face it Serenity, you've lost it all. Your mother, your kingdom, your freedom, your lover." He said as he stepped closer to Serenity, but she stepped backwards towards the bed. Diamond smirked. He grabbed Serenity by her arm and threw her on the bed.

Serenity was stunned for a moment. She looked up as Diamond got on top of her. He placed the crystal on the night stand. Serenity moved to punch him, but Diamond caught her arm and pinned it to the bed. She tried to hit him with the other arm but he grabbed it and pinned it down as well. Diamond gave her an evil smile. "Now I'll take back what's rightfully mine." He said as he moved above her.

Serenity looked to the crystal and then back at Diamond. "You don't have me yet you sorry bastard!" She said as she closed her eyes and began a chant. "I call upon the powers of the Silver crystal. I, Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, ask for your help in my time of need. MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" She called out as she looked to the crystal and waited. Diamond looked as well. He smirked when it did nothing. "And there went your last chance to stop me." He said as he leaned down to continue what he was doing.

Suddenly, a burst of white light filled the room. Diamond got up and yelled as Serenity pushed him off in his momentary blindness. She picked up the crystal and it floated in her hands. It shimmered and disappeared. Meanwhile outside, the scouts jumped back as they saw a burst of white light through the middle crack in the door. "It's the silver crystal! Serenity must have found it!" Venus said as the girls looked in awe.

A white light encased Serenity's body. Serenity closed her eyes, taking in it's warmth. Her white moon dress started to change. She now wore a sailor scout suit like the rest of her court, the only difference was the locket in the middle of her bow in the middle of her suit that now held the silver crystal. Serenity looked down at herself, a bit amazed.

She looked up to see Diamond getting up, furious as could be. "You're one of them?" He asked as Serenity took a fighting stance. "Yes and as the defender of the moon and of all the galaxy, I demand you leave at once and never return. You are hereby confined to your own planet and are never to leave!" He stood up and laughed. "You really think you can get rid of me that easily? Well though, because now, if I get rid of you, I'll be the ruler of three planets and no one can stop me!" He said as he charged a ball of energy in his hand.

"Ready to die Sailor moon?" He asked her as she took her fighting stance. "No, are you?" She asked defiantly. Diamond laughed evilly as he hurled the ball towards Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon started running from the ball, but it caught her back, sending her flying through the glass balcony doors, past the stone railing, and down into the gardens below.

Jupiter saw Sailor Moon through the other window, falling into the gardens. "SERENITY!!!" Jupiter cried out as she opened the window and jumped down into the gardens to help her. The girls all saw what had happened and ran down stairs into the garden where they met Jupiter helping Sailor Moon get up.

"Princess, are you going to be alright?" Jupiter asked as the girls ran up. Sailor Moon shook her head. "I think I'll be alright." Jupiter gave her a smile. Just as Sailor Moon got her balance back, she saw an energy ball hurl Sailor Jupiter into the nearby wall. Sailor Moon gasped. "Lita!" Sailor Moon called out as she went to go help her friend. "No, Serenity!" Mars said as she grabbed Sailor Moon and pulled her away at the last minute before another energy ball was hurled at her. It crashed into the wall next to Jupiter. Mars, Mercury, and Venus formed a wall in front of Sailor Moon.

"What are you guys..." She trailed off as Venus turned to her. "It's our mission to protect you in times of battle. You're too important to loose, Serenity. Go, run, get help!" She said as she turned around. "Mina, Amy, Raye..." Serenity stood there, moved by her friend's loyalty to her. Mars suddenly turned around. "You heard her meatball head! Go! Run! Now!" She said as she turned to face Diamond again. Sailor Moon nodded and turned to run through the gardens.

Diamond gave the girls an insane look and smirked. "Didn't you girls get enough when I kicked your asses the first time?" He said as they all took their fighting stances. "Yeah, well we decided it was payback time!" Venus said as she put her finger in the air and began the attack. "Venus love chain encircle!" She said as a orange chain of hearts came from the tip of her finger. She pointed the attack straight at Diamond. It made a direct hit! She now had him tied and bound. Venus smiled triumphantly as she held on to the chain, tightening it. Diamond gave her an evil look. A few purple sparks of what looked like to be electricity started sparking from his body.

Mercury noticed first and looked at Venus almost panicking. "Venus! Let go of that chain right now!" Venus turned to give her a strange look. "Why? We've got him now!" Diamond was now emanating bolts of lightening from his body, they quickly began to travel down the chain to Venus. Mercury and Mars could do nothing else but watch as their friend was electrocuted. Venus cried out in pain as the chain broke from Diamond and from her hands. Venus fell to her knees, completely drained, and fell face forward to the ground.

Mars stood there as she looked at her unconscious friend laying at her feet. Mars felt tears come to her eyes as she looked up at Diamond. A mix of anger, hatred, and sadness came over her as her hands balled into fists. Mercury started pulling at her arm, trying to pull her away from the battle. "Mars, come on! We must go find Serenity and protect her! There's nothing much else we can do against him. He's obviously stronger than us!" Mercury said as Mars jerked her arm away.

"No, you go and find Sailor Moon. Go protect her. I'm fighting this thing until the bitter end." Mars said with all seriousness in her voice. Mercury caught a little tear falling down the side of her face. "But Mars..." Mercury said, concerned for her friend, unable to think of what to do. Mars suddenly turned around. "Mercury, when Sailor Moon isn't present and neither is Venus, I'm in charge of you, so go now and that's an order!" She said as she turned back to face Diamond once more. Mercury nodded as she ran off in the direction that Sailor Moon had.

While Mercury was running, she saw flashes of red, flames, and purple all at the same time over the tall bushes she ran past. She could hear Mar's attacks and battle cries. She ran for a while until she heard a cry of pain from Mars and heard a body collapse to the ground. Mercury felt tears start coming to her eyes. 'What if I can't find Serenity in time? What if I end up like the others?' She thought to herself as she continued running through the gardens, looking for any sign of Sailor Moon. She ran for a while longer until she collided with something hard. She fell backwards onto the ground. Mercury landed rather hard on her butt. She looked up to see Diamond floating above her. He gave her an evil smile.

"Three down, one to go..." He trailed off as he floated towards her. Mercury jumped to her feet. "Not just yet!" She said as she took her fighting stance. 'I'm not going down without a fight!' She thought to herself as she gathered energy for an attack. "Mercury Bubbles..." She started as a ball of bubbles started to form in her hands. She took careful aim as Diamond came closer to her. She glared at him as she let the attack go, full force. "BLAST!" She cried as the area became shrouded in a thick mist. Diamond wasted no time in attacking her. He couldn't see her, but he could still attack her. He formed an energy ball and attacked where Mercury was. The next thing that was heard was a blast and a small crater was seen in the ground.

"Damn! She moved." He cursed out loud as he began to look for her in the still thick mist. Mercury was on top of one of the tall bushes. She quietly powered up for another one of her attacks. "Mercury aqua..." She said softly as a blue harp appeared in her hands. Diamond suddenly shot up from out of the mist and appeared above her. He gave her an overly evil smile as he dive-bombed downwards toward her. Mercury acted quickly to his movement. "RHAPSODY!" She cried out as bursts of ice came from the harp and shot towards Diamond. Diamond was instantly frozen and his body fell to the ground, still frozen. Mercury jumped down from the bush and slowly came towards the frozen, un-moving body of Diamond. She let out a sigh of relief.

"It's over." She said to herself as she turned away to begin to search for Sailor Moon. As she walked, she heard a faint crack. She turned around at that. There was a small crack in the ice and nothing had touched it. She stood there for a moment and another crack happened, and then another, and another, and another until finally the ice broke into millions of tiny ice crystals and there stood Diamond, with a look of malice on his face.

"Did you really think it'd be that easy to get rid of me?" He said as he charged another energy ball in his hand, a small one this time. Sailor Mercury stared in shock, unable to think of what to do next. He threw the ball at her. The ball hit her square in her abdomen. The force of the ball pushed her back a bit and forced a little cry of pain. "Did you really think you could defeat me when your little friends and even your Queen and Princess could not?" Diamond's smirk widened. "Don't make me laugh." He said as he threw another ball at her, this time a little bigger than the last. It hit Mercury again in the same place. Mercury fell backwards on her back into the grass. She was having trouble breathing now. She lay on the ground, trying to stabilize her breathing, while shooting Diamond dirty looks.

"You'll never win. Evil never wins, _never_." She said, emphasizing the faith she had in the force of good. She didn't have any idea by who or how Diamond would be defeated now, but she somehow knew he would be defeated in one way or another, even when all hope seemed lost. She smiled to herself. Diamond gave her a disgusted look. "What are you smiling for? You have nothing to smile about. You've lost it all. Your friends, your Princess, your galaxy, the battle and now, you're about to loose your life!" He said, thinking that would get rid of her smile, but it stayed there, just as bright as ever.

"You'll be defeated somehow, I know it." She said, keeping the smile. "There's still Sailor Moon, she will find a way to get us through this, she always does." She tried to get up once more, but she couldn't. Diamond had hit her pretty hard and several times at that. Diamond laughed. "You really think that whimp can defeat me? You are seriously delusional!" He said as he charged another energy ball in his hand. Mercury closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. The next thing Mercury knew was being pounded into the ground with a force she had never known and pain she couldn't describe in words. She cried out and the next thing she knew was complete darkness.

Meanwhile, Sailor Moon ran through the maze garden. She had no idea where she would go, who she would call for help, what had happened to her friends. Where they still holding off Diamond? Where they all killed? She shook that thought from mind as she continued taking random paths and running. She ran until she came to the end of the maze. 'Maybe I can run and get help from Earth's soldiers, call my soldiers, get any help possible.' She thought to herself as she reached the end. She skidded to a stop as she found at the end what she never expected to be there.

Go ahead, say it, I'm mean. But I seriously had to stop it here. Don't worry, there's more to come, just a little later. I hope this chapter was good and long enough for you. Please review! Thanks a lot to my fans and readers!

Mackenzie


	16. White Lights

ALMOST another year I haven't updated this thing and for that...I'm very very sorry! I've had a bad case of writer's block with this one for some reason. I have the ending planned out, but to get there was kind of a hard decision on my part, but now it's up, be happy and read it!

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As soon as she skidded to a stop, Sailor Moon fell backwards in disbelief and fear. He stood in front of her with that undeniable evil look of malice on his face. Only the gods of the underworld knew what he had in store for her, at least that's what she thought anyway.

"Well, what are you to do now, Princess?" Diamond said as he stepped towards her and she scooted back. "Did you really think your little girl band was going to stop me? Did you really think I wouldn't kill your lover boy? Oh...or maybe it's the fact..." He trailed off as he leaned down and grabbed her arm and pulled her up to him. He put her face only a few inches away from his. She could now undoubtedly feel his dark life force. He looked almost like a monster up close to her. She cringed at their closeness. "That you didn't stop to think I would kill your mother if you didn't follow what I said." He whispered evilly.

Her struggling against him lessened now and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. He smirked at this. "All your suffering will end if you agree to be my queen and rule the galaxy with me. I'll make you a new court, one that's more reliable than that pathetic bunch you had. And I may even forgive you for going back on your mother's word." Sailor Moon's anger surfaced at the mention of her friends. She began trying to rip her arm out of his hand.

"I...will never...be...your...queen..." She said as she struggled harder, but Diamond whipped her around to face him and grabbed both of her arms this time. As soon as he brought her closer to him again, he slapped her hard across the face again, forcing the tears to come forth. He quickly replaced his hand back on her arm. She tried to avoid his hateful gaze by looking up at the sky instead, which was quickly growing dark with ominous black clouds in the sky, which she somehow knew wasn't the Earth's normal clouds.

Diamond looked up at the sky and then back down at her and laughed. "At least I'll have this planet. It's already succumbing to my powers." He said as he jerked her closer to him. "I suggest you do the same." He said as he leaned in for a kiss. Tears flowed down Sailor Moon's face as he leaned forward. 'Not again...' She thought as she closed her eyes in disgust tightly, knowing there was nothing she could do.

Just before his lips could touch hers, he felt a sharp pain scrape across his left cheek, warm blood seeped out just seconds after the assault. He let go of one of Sailor Moon's shoulders and inspected his cheek. He looked to see his blood on his fingers and then, something else with the same coloring caught his eye.

It was a red rose! 'Tuxedo Mask's trademark…..' He thought as he looked around. He Diamond still held Sailor Moon's other shoulder. "Looking for me?" A familiar voice said as he looked up in the direction of the voice.

Darien stood atop the maze garden still in just his white dress shirt and pants, though the shirt was a little torn now. Diamond glared harshly at him. "How in the hell….." He trailed off as Darien smirked. "Did I survive? That's my little secret. I am Tuxedo Mask, you know." He said, mockingly. Diamond growled and let go of Sailor Moon. She fell to the ground and landed on her side. "Well, pretty soon, you're going to be the late Tuxedo Mask!" He said as he charged an energy ball in his hand and aimed carefully.

As he got prepared to throw it at his target, Sailor Moon appeared quickly behind him and pushed him, making the ball fly towards a wall, destroying about over half of it. Darien quickly jumped down from the wall and grabbed Sailor Moon's hand and quickly dragged her back into the maze. It all happened so fast that Sailor Moon almost had no idea what had just happened. She barely registered that Darien had grabbed her and began running and that she was running as well.

As soon as Darien found another deeper part of the maze, he stopped and turned towards Sailor Moon. She could only stare in awe at him. She had no idea what to say to him. She couldn't believe he was alive. "Serenity, are you okay? Serenity!" Darien was slightly shaking her by her shoulders, worrying if she had gone into shock. Sailor Moon shook her head slightly and then a smile broke out onto her face. "Darien!" She said as she jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. She started crying a little. Darien was surprised at first and then smiled and put his arms around her.

"Are you alright?" He asked as she looked up at him, still holding on to him, afraid to let go. She nodded. "Yes, but the important thing is, are you okay?" She asked as she started checking him. He chuckled and stopped her. "I'm fine, Serenity. I promise. What's with the get-up though?" He asked as he looked her over. She blushed. "Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you I am a Sailor Scout as well. I'm the leader of my court." Darien looked up at the sky for a moment. The sky was completely pitch black and there was purple lightening lighting up the sky. Thunder soon followed.

'I definitely know that's not normal.' He thought to himself as he looked back down at Sailor Moon. She looked up, worried at him. "Diamond said that the Earth was starting to succumb to him. I don't know what to do. Apparently he took out all of my Sailor Scouts and he has the Earth's forces under his control. And I know my Army cannot withstand this." She said as she looked up at him with despair. He gave her a reassuring look and smiled. "We'll find a way to defeat him and get the Earth back, don't worry, Serenity." He said as she smiled.

Suddenly, the purple lightening came down and destroyed a good portion of the maze close to them. Sailor Moon screamed and held on to Darien. He only stood there for a second as he took Sailor Moon's hand and began running again. Above their heads, Diamond floated above them, making his dark clouds shoot lightening at them. "Run, my little bunny, run!" He said, directing that comment at Sailor Moon as they ran. He shot lightening bolt after lightening bolt at them as they kept running, just barely missing every time.

'He's playing with us.' Darien thought as he ran, trying to think of some sort of way out of this. Suddenly, Sailor Moon tripped and fell to the ground. Darien quickly stopped and turned around. "Serenity!" He said as he ran back to pick her up. Sailor Moon slowly sat up and shook her head. Diamond stopped chasing them and floated high above her. "It's very clear to me what path you have chosen. And so….." He trialed off as he charged an energy ball in his hand and carefully aimed for her. "If I cannot have you, then the devil will!" He said, grinning that overly evil grin and chucking it hard down at Sailor Moon.

Darien moved fast and quickly dove for Sailor Moon. He pulled her into his arms as the ball started coming down. She looked at him with a frightened look. "Darien, no! Get out of here!" She cried helplessly. He gave her a stern look. "No. If you die, I'll have nothing. You said you were my only family, and you said no one would take you from me, not even Diamond, remember?" He said with his smile and she looked at him with tears streaming down her face, but still with a smile. "Oh Darien, I love you." She said as she put her arms around him, and braced for the impact. Darien put his arms around her and closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

As the ball inched closer, the weird white symbol of light appeared on Darien's forehead, the symbol still indefinable. Darien hugged her closer as Sailor Moon opened her eyes slightly and gasped as she saw the symbol. 'The Earth symbol?' She gasped. 'Darien is the lost Earth prince!' She watched as the ball was nearly touching them now but suddenly, the white light grew and formed a round shield around them. Sailor Moon could only watch in awe as this went on.

The ball touched the white shield finally. There was instantly a clash of white and purple lightening. They shot out in all directions. Diamond grabbed his cape and covered his eyes. "What is that annoying white light?!" He asked to no one in particular. The ball started moving away from the couple and then, towards it's original owner. "What the….?!" He barely said as he started to try and get away. The ball instantly hit him and he let out a blood curdling scream as it consumed him. It took a few moments, but then, it exploded, and his body fell to the ground, bloody and unconscious.

Back on the ground, the white shield finally faded and it left Sailor Moon and Darien, still crouched on the ground. Sailor Moon looked up at the sky. She smiled as it started to turn blue again. She then looked to Darien. She smiled but a second later, it faded. "Darien?" She asked as she shook him lightly. He fell over in her arms. "Darien? Darien?!" She asked desperately as she shook him. He was completely unconscious.

"Oh God, no. Not him too, please!" She said as she started crying. She then heard a groan from not too far away. She saw Diamond trying to crawl towards her, but failing miserably at it. She sniffled and looked at him angrily. She then left Darien's side and walked to Diamond. She stood above him, looking like she could murder him right then and there. Diamond looked up at her and then put his head back down.

"All I ever wanted was to have my own kingdom where everything went as how I wanted it. Where the world was how I wanted it to be. The people too." He said weakly, hoping she would hear him out. Sailor Moon shook her head. "No kingdom can be like that. No kingdom wants a dictatorship. They want leadership. They want someone who won't take their power and abuse it." She said, being completely serious. "All I ever wanted was you, Serenity." He said as he looked up at her, just as the sun was coming back into view.

"Diamond, you're not the real crown prince here. The real one is laying over there. We were never meant to be. It was always supposed to be Darien and I from the beginning. Fate just had different plans than you did. It had a funny way of showing us how, but it did." She said, offering him a small smile. He smiled back. "I've always longed for the day you would give me one of those." He said as he smiled and closed his eyes. She could feel his life force slowly slipping away. His body soon turned into purple particles. Sailor Moon watched as the wind gently took him away. She sighed. "It's over. The Earth and the universe is safe." She said as her Sailor Suit turned a bright white and faded back into her Moon Princess dress. Her eyes closed slowly as she fell to her knees and fell forwards to the ground.

'Darien…..Darien…..Please wake up….' He very faintly heard a sweet voice, but it was not that of Serenity. 'Darien…..Darien….' He heard it again. He saw a crack of white light in the darkness. He very slowly opened his eyes to see a blue haired girl with a blue visor over her eyes. "He's awake!" She said happily as she got out of his face and he sat up. He gently shook his head as he noticed where he was. He was now in the Palace's infirmary. "Are you alright, Darien?" She asked as he looked around. He noticed all of the other members of Serenity's court were standing around his bed. They were all still in their Sailor Suits and they were all tired looking and patched up here and there.

"Serenity? Where's Serenity?" He asked as he moved quickly to get out of bed but Mercury stopped him. "She's in another part of the palace and she's fine." She said with a reassuring smile. "She was just a little exhausted from using the silver crystal, but she's recovering quickly." Darien was persistent. "Can I see her at least, please?" He asked as he tried to get out of bed again. This time, Mercury didn't stop him. Instead, the girls all parted for him to see two people standing behind him.

It was Serenity and the King. Darien instantly got up from out of his bed and bowed with the rest of the girls. King Damien smirked. "Now, why should my son bow down before his father?" He asked with a knowing smile. Darien looked up, very surprised and very confused. "Son? What?" He asked as he looked to Serenity, who smile was brighter than anything else. "You're the crown prince of Earth, Prince Endymion." She said as she blushed. Darien looked at them, still not completely understanding. "I don't understand…." He trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

King Damien spoke again. "We've found some proof that you are my son. Long ago, when this kingdom was just established, I had a wife and a son. My son was abducted and taken from us long ago by what we thought were bandits, but with the help of Princess Serenity's silver crystal, it showed me the truth of what happened." He paused as Darien nodded. "My wife had gotten word from a Sailor Scout of time, named Pluto who had told of what the Dark kingdom had been planning. They were going to take my son and kill him and later kill my wife." He sighed in memory.

"That faithful night my son had gone missing, she had really hidden him and when I thought she was looking for him, she had really taken him from the palace and placed him at a random doorstep, hoping the family would treat him well, and obviously they did. My wife, however, was not so lucky." He said, no longer able to continue, remembering the pain.

Serenity took over from there. "The Dark Kingdom's minions found his wife and well…." She said as Darien held up a hand to stop her. "I get it. So you guys are saying I'm Prince Endymion?" He asked as Serenity nodded. "Yes. I know for a fact. I saw it when you saved me." She said with a smile. He looked at her, confused. "Saw what?" He asked as she stepped forward. She lightly touched his forehead and the Earth symbol appeared. King Damien gasped.

"That's our family crest!" He said as he signaled for Darien to rise and step forward. He stared at Darien for a moment, the spitting image of himself in his younger days. He smiled as tears came to his eyes and grabbed Darien and hugged him tightly. "Welcome home, Son." Darien was shocked that the king was hugging him and calling him son. He tried to hold them back, but tears sprang to his eyes. "It's good to finally be home, father." He said as he lifted his arms to hug him back.

A few weeks later, Darien….errr….Endymion stood at the balcony of his room and watched the Earth workers fix the aftermath of what the now dead Diamond had done to the once beautiful maze garden. He no longer wore his Tuxedo Mask costume and he no longer thought about stealing. The crime statistics on Earth went down a whole 75 just because of him alone. He smirked at this. He now wore his prince garments and cape. He felt someone tap his shoulder from behind. He turned to see Serenity behind him with a sad look on her face.

"You're going back home, today?" He asked sadly as she nodded. "My people need me now that my mother is gone." She said as she sighed and stepped forward to hug him. "Oh Darien, I can't go without you." She said as she began to cry into his chest. Endymion put his head on hers and smiled sadly. "I can't. I have to stay here with father and learn my duties. I was only crowned just yesterday, you know." He said as she moved her head to look up at him with sad eyes. "And it's Endymion now." He said as she smiled and snuffled.

"I know and I'm going to have to get used to that…." She said as he looked at her and sighed. She leaned up and kissed him passionately and quickly and then ran off to find her court….or so he thought…..

His next visitor was his father, King Damien. He stood next to the now crestfallen Endymion and sighed. "You know you have to pick a wife pretty soon, right?" He asked as Endymion sighed. "Yes, Father, I know." He said as he sighed again. "Have anyone in mind?" King Damien asked with a knowing little smile. Endymion looked at him with a funny look. "You're not putting me through the whole betrothal thing?" He asked with hope. King Damien smiled. "Well, if you don't want to get married to the Moon Princess then…." He said as he started to leave Endymion. Endymion's heart fluttered at the mention of his love. "What?" He asked, very hopeful.

King Damien stopped and turned around. He smiled at his son. "I think you're old enough to choose your way, son." He said as he left. Not five seconds after that, he saw a white flash of a dress running towards him out of his room, onto his balcony and to him. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him as best as she could and kissed him fiercely and passionately. Endymion barely had any time to react as he started to respond to the kiss.

After a while, she let her legs go free and stopped kissing him, but she didn't let go of his neck. "Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with me?" She asked as he smiled and put his forehead against hers. "I have no choice Serena. My father may have given me the option, but no matter what I'd do or where I'd go, I'd know destiny has already picked out my choice for me." He said with a smile. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." He said as he nuzzled her nose and she giggled. She took away one of her hands and gently grabbed his and put it on her very small bulge in her stomach. "Think you can handle two of me?" She asked as he looked at her in amazement. "Are you really….?" He trailed off as she nodded.

He smiled and laughed as he picked her up and swung her around and brought her in for another passionate kiss. As a bandit, he had stolen at lot of things in his life, but he never expected to steal the heart of a princess, let alone her steal his in return.

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Whoo! That took me two days to write, but I hope it was all well worth it! Hope you guys enjoyed, it's done , it's finished. Oh yeah! Ha ha! So, go review, get the tissues, get….whatever else you're planning on getting…..

Mackenzie


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